A Heart to Give
by NerdySkeleton
Summary: People say to follow your heart. But what happens when you don't even have your own heart? With unexpected villains and deathly schemes, the tables are turned on the Skulduggery Pleasant gang. Rated T for gore and violence. Now Complete!
1. Catch Cain

Lalalala neeeew story!

* * *

Valkyrie Cain slammed the door shut to her old Mustang. She frowned as the small summer rain shower spit on her head and got her black jacket wet. The light thunder rumbled far off. Her necromancy necklace jangled as she stepped around the deserted streets and waltzed into the old tattoo shop.

"Finbar!" she called out. "Are you in here?"

"Valkyrie!" someone's voice called out. "What are you doing here?" There was a loud crash and clang, and soon, Finbar Wrong came out of the back room. His face was still studded with piercings, and his skinny arms were visible. The tattoos were still shown prominently.

"Finbar I called you before, asking if I could come over," Valkyrie said. "I need to take a few things back."

"Oh right, right…Hey boys!" he shouted to the ceiling. "Come on down and help your old friend. I've got someone else in the back." Valkyrie nodded and gave a wave as Finbar tottered off, humming a few lines from a song Valkyrie had never heard. She laughed quietly as the stampede began above her head. Heavy boots clomped down the rickety stairs, and thuds and scrapes were heard.

"Val!"

"Val!"

"Val!" Finbar Wrong's triplets shouted. They all had multiple piercings like their father, but each had Sharon's eyes and her hair. Finbar's face was etched in each of their smiling faces. They were 26 each.

"Hey boys," she greeted them. "I need help finding some things."

"We love finding things!" Ringo Stack grinned.

"I could draw it for you!" Miles Jagger said.

Donahue Taylor smirked. "Anything for you, Val."

She chuckled. "I need two boxes. One is a green cylinder type thing, with a bow on the top. The other is a purple suitcase. Remember those?" The three boys nodded and scattered around the room.

"Why are we always the ones to store things for people?" Miles wondered aloud as he tossed boxes aside to make way.

"We're excellent finders!" Ringo grinned.

"Everyone must want to see our handsome faces," Donahue said, shooting a look at Valkyrie. She raised an eyebrow but remained quiet.

"I got the suitcase," Ringo shouted and came bounding up to Valkyrie. He passed it delicately to her.

"Thank you, Ringo," she grinned and rattled the suitcase.

"And I have the box," Donahue Taylor said after a few moments. "It seems to still be in perfect condition. It much resembles a certain lady…"

"Please Donahue," Valkyrie smirked, "don't ever try that on anyone _ever_. That's a guarantee slap in the face." Donahue frowned. She gave a little wave and began towards the door. "I'll see you sometime soon, boys. Tell your parents they're friggin' awesome."

"We will!"

"We will!"

"We will!"

Valkyrie pulled open the flimsy door and made her way to her old Mustang. She deposited the old suitcase and box in the car and suddenly frowned. There was a slight hissing sound coming from the ground. She bent down and stared at her leaking tire.

"Oh, thank you magical world!" she shouted. "I appreciate this." Valkyrie kicked the tire and yanked out her phone. She dialed the number and held it up to her ear.

"Valkyrie?" Skulduggery answered.

"Some jerk-face cut my tire. Come and get me please?" She leaned up against the car as the rain fell steadier and stronger.

"Alright, we'll head over soon."

"Kay, hurry so I don't get drenched please!" Valkyrie said. She giggled and cut the call, placing her phone back in her pocket. Valkyrie Cain turned slowly at the sound of scuffing feet. She barely caught site of two people, one person who looked to be female, the other male when something hard and blunt hit her head, and she was out like a light.

A Week Later

"You saw nothing?" Skulduggery Pleasant asked Donahue Taylor, Miles Jagger, and Ringo Stack again. The three men shook their heads. "No scream, no yelling, not people getting beat up?"

"We didn't hear anything."

"We didn't hear anything."

"We didn't hear anything."

"Not even me, Skul-Man. I've got the keen hearing, you know," Finbar added from his seat across the room. "Sorry, but I think my army's telling the truth…or maybe not."

Skulduggery sighed and nodded once. "If you notice anything or recall _anything_ let me know." The four men waved goodbye and quickly dispersed around the room. Skulduggery Pleasant left the tattoo shop swiftly, climbed into the Bentley, not saying anything to the girl next to him.

"Why am I not allowed in there again?" she asked.

"Because being in there gave your mother the crazy idea of getting a tattoo."

"But she was well over the age limit to get one."

"No difference."

Abigail Pleasant scowled and turned and face the window. "Did they have anything useful to say?" she asked as the car started up and turned down the street.

"Nothing of importance. They didn't see or hear anything. No scream."

"Do you think they snuck up behind her?"

"They had to have. I don't believe Valkyrie Cain would stand by and let someone kidnap her and keep her in hiding for a week without saying or doing anything."

Abby nodded. "Mike the Mustang wasn't touched at all, right?"

Skulduggery sighed and muttered something about naming everything in the world. "No, Mike was untouched. No windows smashed and/or locks picked. Someone did cut the tire, making it impossible for Valkyrie to get anywhere."

"So whoever kidnapped her, wanted her to stay there?"

"It would seem so."

Abby sighed and faced the window. "Who do you think did this?"

He shrugged. "Who hates your mother most?"

"That vampire guy…but he's in jail, isn't he? We would have gotten word that he escaped, right?"

"This is true. Who else?"

"Sanguine. He'd want to kidnap Mom," she muttered. "He said he'd do anything to make sure she was dead the last time we saw him."

"When did we last see him?" Skulduggery asked quietly.

"He was in a jail cell, suspended above ground. He couldn't escape, unless he cut the bars."

"Sanguine seems to be out, then, as well. Anyone else you can think of?"

"Scapegrace?"

"I never count him as a threat, and he can barely punch anyone. I don't think he'd be able to steal your mother without being overcome by her. Think of anyone else?"

Abby shook her head. "There's no one else that comes to mind."

Skulduggery nodded and turned the corner smoothly. "That seems to rule out the main suspects. Now, who hates me?"

"Everyone," she replied.

The skeleton glared at her from under his sunglasses. "Very funny, child. Now, again, who hates me?"

"I'm not sure. Why would they kidnap Valkyrie Cain, and not their enemy?"

"Think," he said smartly.

Abigail paused and wracked her brains. "Because…they could get to you through her? Half of the world knows you guys are partners, in quite a few more ways than in crime. But the only person I think of when it comes to hating you is Grandpa Kenspeckle."

He laughed and turned left. "That's very true. I don't believe that the Professor would kidnap Valkyrie, however."

"He totally loves her."

"Agreed. And you're the least hated person in this world, I believe, so no one will come to get her because of you," he said.

"Well, I'll work on being more terrible, like you. Why are we home?" Abby glanced out the window at Gordon's mansion. "I thought we were going other places."

"It's nine o'clock," Skulduggery replied, pulling to the curb and climbing out the car. Abby climbed out her passenger seat side. "We had a deal: you're going to school tomorrow, then we go get Tanith, Ghastly comes over, Fletcher might come, and then the next day you have off."

She groaned. "I hate these deals you make. They suck."

"Didn't you openly admit you'd go to school for that _one specific person_?" Skulduggery joked as he led the way inside.

She blushed. "Shut up," she muttered and closed the door behind them both. "I talk to Mike everyday."

Skulduggery sighed wistfully. "Ahh, young love! How marvelous it is."

"Dad!" she shouted and slapped his arm. "Stop it!"

"Yeah, geez, Skulduggery," came a cocky voice from behind them. Both turned slowly and stared at the idiot in their kitchen. Fletcher Renn beamed back, but frowned slightly. "What, no welcome? I haven't seen you guys in forever!"

"Last month, Fletcher," Skulduggery replied. "Weren't you coming tomorrow, though?"

"I figured I could breeze in a bit early. Plus, my I missed my favorite niece-type-thing!" Fletcher Renn smiled and winked over at Abby. "How goes the investigation?"

"Terrible," Abby muttered and turned and waltzed out of the kitchen. "Don't talk about your man things really loud again. That was a terrible night." She smirked and swiftly turned the corner and bounded up the stairs. She opened the door to her room, and immediately noticed the picture of her mother and father atop her dresser. It had fallen over when she had rushed to grab a shirt. She flipped the picture up and sighed quietly. No matter what, she'd find her mother again.

* * *

So…here's the first chapter! Hope you liked! And apologies for any mistakes. I proofread, but I always miss a few minor ones.

:D


	2. Greetings Girls

GUESS WHO MAKES AN APPEARANCE HERE? GUESS GUESS GUESS.

:D

**EDIT:**** Cerunnos Cain **graciously pointed out that I had made a minor, yet still big mistake, and it was seriously bugging me, so I just fixed it. Nothing new here. But thank yooou for pointing it out! :D

* * *

Abigail finally reached the front door to Gordon's mansion and sighed. She flung the door open and dropped her backpack on the ground and flopped down next to it. She heard soft footsteps across the floor and Fletcher Renn bent down over her.

"You alright there?" he asked, the trademark smirk on his face.

"I hate school," she replied. "Did you, like, _ever_ go to school, Uncle Fletcher?"

"I did, I did!" he shouted defensively. "I just didn't really retain the information, nor did I do any work. At all."

"Typical," she groaned and sat up. They both heard more footsteps; two people walking their way this time. Ghastly Bespoke and Skulduggery stepped around from the corner. Abby's father had the skin "on". His eyes lit up at the sight of her.

"Have fun at school?" he asked lightly.

She scowled and tried sending a wall of concentrated air at his face. It failed and only blew his hair back slightly. She scowled again and laid back down on the ground.

"I hate you all," she said.

"Always good to know, child," Skulduggery replied before ducking away as she threw a shoe at him. He laughed and poked his head back in the room. "You'll never get me!" He grinned but immediately frowned as an orb of water fell atop his head. Abby smiled from the ground and got up quickly, carrying her backpack upstairs to her room, leaving her father dumbfounded, which is rather hard to do.

* * *

"For the love of God, Abigail, get off the chair!" Skulduggery growled and yanked on her coat.

"I'm standing up here because I, unlike you, am not 80 feet tall. I can't see over all these people," she shot back.

"Well, airport security is going to come in here and yell at you."

"Oh, please. Fletcher's over there, doing the exact same thing, and you don't see him getting yelled at." She pointed to the fully grown man standing atop a chair a few ways over.

"Fletcher Renn are you four?" Ghastly sighed and scanned the ground for the blond bobbing head of Tanith Low.

"Pleasant!" came a scream. Everyone turned to follow the voice. "Abigail Victoria Lucy Edgley Pleasant!" came the scream again.

"Tanith!" Ghastly shouted over the crowds. He hopped up onto the chair next to Abby, completely defying all laws of adults. Tanith Low had been called to the London Sanctuary "on business". She had permanently moved to Ireland when she married Ghastly over twenty years ago, yet had never really said she was moving. Needless to say, the London Sanctuary was pissed at her recklessness and asked for her to "finalize her transfer" to another country. She called them a bunch of "nosey-parkers".

A hand appeared above the crowds that waved in their general direction. Ghastly stepped down from the chair and rushed up to the hand and hugged the body it belonged to.

"Hello there," Tanith grinned and kissed him lightly. Ghastly led her back to the chairs that Abby and Fletcher were still standing on. Abby had placed her hand on Skulduggery and was leaning against him. Fletcher grinned and stepped down and held his arms out wide.

"Do I get a hug?" he asked innocently. Tanith laughed and flung her strong arms around his thin neck and hugged him. He released her. She stepped back and grinned at Abby still on the chair.

"Long time no see, kid," Tanith greeted her. "Have you murdered your father yet?" She glanced at the man next to her and smirked.

Abby scoffed. "I would never do such a thing to him! I shall leave that to Mom when we get her back." She jumped down and hugged Tanith. She backed away as Tanith thrust her arms out for a hug from Skulduggery Pleasant. He reluctantly allowed her arms to wrap around his skinny frame.

"Don't worry," she whispered into his ear. "She'll be back before you know it."

He nodded and smiled sadly, letting go of Tanith. "Ready to go, then?" he asked and got nods from everyone. They all shuffled out of the airport and towards the Bentley. They all crammed inside; Tanith, Fletcher, and Abby squished together in the back. Skulduggery pulled the car smoothly out of the lot and started the way back to Gordon's.

* * *

They arrived back to the mansion shortly. Skulduggery parked the car, but immediately shouted for everyone to stay inside.

"Why?" Tanith asked frantically.

Skulduggery pointed to the second story windows. "The lights are on," he said quietly. "And the window by the kitchen is open. Ghastly." He nodded towards his friend and they climbed out of the car swiftly. They crept across the front yard and Skulduggery climbed through the open window while Ghastly entered through the front door. The kitchen lights were flipped on suddenly, and a scream and crash resounded in the night air.

"What in the world is going on?" Fletcher grumbled aloud as the three watched from the car. They waited a few moments, and suddenly, Ghastly appeared through the front door, waving them in.

Tanith and Abigail bolted from the car, while Fletcher teleported to the door. They rushed in into the kitchen and stopped abruptly. Glass shards were scattered across the floor, and Ghastly was picking them up. He dumped each bit into the trashcan.

Skulduggery was standing with a woman at the sink, rinsing her caramel colored hand off. There was a thin trail of blood leading from the center of the kitchen to the sink. The woman was only slightly taller than him. She had a thin frame and curvy hips. She had dark colored jeans and a robin feather's colored jacket on her torso. Her hair was a few shades darker than the jacket, like a red wine color. She was giggling slightly as Skulduggery grumbled something. He shut the water off and told her wait here while he went up to get bandages. She responded with a salute from her good hand and smirked. Skulduggery left and sighed loudly as he ascended the stairs.

"Has he gotten ruder?" the woman asked loudly.

"I heard that!" Skulduggery shouted from the stairs.

"Sorry!" she called back and laughed.

"He's just stressed," Abby said defensively, stepping forward a little. "Who are you to break into this house?"

The woman looked at Ghastly and frowned. Her light green eyes darted back to Abby. "I apologize, Miss…?"

"Lyra Navy," she responded, whipping out her taken name.

"Well, I apologize, Miss Navy. It was not my intention to break in here, but no one was home and I was cold." Her voice was slick and smooth and soft, like a fox. It was Irish. "I'm Eshara Firefox, and it's such a lovely pleasure to meet you." She stuck her good hand out, but retracted it when Skulduggery returned with a box of bandages. He grumbled something else and directed her to sit on the counters.

"So," Eshara continued, "Miss Navy, how might you know Mr. Pleasant?" She looked at Abby from her spot on the kitchen counters as Skulduggery fixed her hand.

"Don't Eshara," Skulduggery muttered, applying an anti-disinfectant to her hand. "Leave her be."

"Skulduggery," Ghastly said, "she has a right to know."

"Well when I find out why she's here I'll explain things to her," he responded.

"I'm still here, you know," Eshara smiled at Skulduggery and Ghastly. "Can Miss Navy at least know who I am?"

Skulduggery sighed and placed the bandage delicately on her hand. He nodded once and allowed her to hop down. Eshara looked at Abby, or Lyra, and smiled softly.

"Eshara is my older, half-sister," Skulduggery muttered sadly, leaning up against the counter. Abby, Tanith, and Fletcher gasped dramatically and tilted their heads to get a better look at the two. Each had high cheekbones and a slightly crooked nose. Skulduggery's eyes were of a darker shade, while Eshara's were lighter. Eshara's skin was dark, like caramel, while Skulduggery's was like coffee creamer.

"Got that right, Brother!" Eshara shouted and swung her arm around his neck and hugged him close. "So, can I _please_ know who this pretty child is? She looks vaguely familiar."

"She is my daughter," he sighed.

Eshara gasped even more dramatically. "You _reproduced_? Again? How in the world did that happen?"

"Well you see Eshara," Ghastly smirked, "when a man, or skeleton, and a woman love each other very much they…" She stuck her tongue out at him and snapped her palm against the air, sending a few sprays of water towards his face. He laughed and wiped it off.

"So who's the lucky lady who won Brother's affection?" An awkward silence fell atop of them all. Tanith fidgeted at the kitchen table, while Fletcher shifted uncomfortably against the wall. Ghastly sighed quietly, and Abby huffed and crossed her arms. Skulduggery remained impassive. "Oh," Eshara whispered. "Is she…She's not _expired _or anything, right? I sincerely apologize if so."

"No," Abby growled, "she's just been kidnapped and no one has heard from her in weeks nor have we gotten any clues. For all we know, she could be dead."

Eshara nodded once, thinking it over. "And…is this woman greatly hated and/or feared? I remember hearing about the great Skulduggery Pleasant and his weirdo partner…Valerie or something."

"Valkyrie Cain," Skulduggery corrected.

"So…your partner in crime is also your wife and mother of your child?" He nodded. "I feel a soap opera coming on!" Eshara grinned and faced Ghastly. "Speaking of being married, I can't help but notice the ring on your finger." She gestured to the gold band on his hand and smirked. "She's not dead or anything, right?"

Ghastly laughed and shook his head. "No, but meet Tanith Low." He smiled as Tanith got up from the table and smiled slightly. She showed her hand with the ring on her finger as well. Eshara grinned and clapped her hands.

"I'd give you a hug, Miss Low, but that'd be a little awkward."

"Maybe just a bit," Tanith agreed.

"So, Brother," Eshara began again, "is anyone else married? Because I'd like to meet all their spouses. Like…China's not married, right? I pity the man who would become her husband."

Skulduggery laughed and shook his head. "No, China is not married."

Eshara sighed in relief and smirked. She looked over at Abby in her chair. She leaned in closer to Skulduggery. "Does she look a lot like her mother?" She gestured to Abby.

He nodded. "Just about the spitting image." Eshara smiled and nudged her brother. He smirked and crossed his arms. Silence came over them all.

Fletcher yawned. "I'm tired," he announced. He began tottering off. "I'll see you all tomorrow." Tanith and Ghastly seconded that notion and departed quickly back to Ghastly's home. Abigail had been forced upstairs to bed by her father, and she went begrudgingly.

Eshara jumped from the counter and sat at the table. Skulduggery sat opposite her. "Now," Eshara said seriously, "details on Cain. When and where did it happen?"

"She had gone out to Finbar Wrong's place to get a few things. She called me saying that some idiot cut her tires and needed a ride. I said we'd come and get her, and then grabbed Lyra and headed out." Skulduggery paused and brushed his hair back. "I don't know who and how they got her, but when we got to Finbar's, they said she had left and they hadn't heard or seen anything."

"Any suspects yet?"

"The regulars are all either in jail, or MIA."

"They could have resurfaced," Eshara shot back.

He waved his hand dismissively. "Not likely. The most likely man had his arm and leg cut off _by _Valkyrie, and I don't think he's healed since then."

"When was that?"

"Three years ago."

"Prosthetics." Eshara rose an eyebrow at the thought.

"Likely, but Valkyrie insulted this man's mother, and also beat him up senseless. He said he'd come back when he'd fully recovered, and the physical and verbal abuse will take much longer than three years."

"Ouch." Eshara smiled. "Tough girl, huh?"

"Broke my nose and Ghastly's arm four times," Skulduggery replied, a little smug, yet still embarrassed.

"Goodness gracious. I can't wait to meet her." Skulduggery sighed gently and crossed his arms. "Oh we'll find her. After all, I'm here now!" She smiled and gently kicked his foot. "Brighten up, Brother. Tomorrow, you're taking me to the Sanctuary or to China's so I can get a good and _accurate_ detailing of Cain."

"You think I'm lying about my own wife?" Skulduggery scoffed in disbelief.

She nodded. "I'd say she'd break your fragile Pleasant nose _at least_ ten times. Admit it, she could beat you up."

"I admit, elemental verses necromancy never ends pretty." He watched her tense slightly.

"Who's her teacher?" Eshara regarded him warily, watching his lips form into a smile.

"There's a possibility you know him," he said. "Does the name Solomon Wreath ring a bell?"

Eshara sucked in a breath and pursed her lips. "Shush you. I don't want you mentioning this…Or I'll break your nose again."

"You'll have to catch me human then. No telling when I'll go again."

"What could you _possibly_ mean by that?"

Skulduggery chuckled twice and pushed his hair back. "Well, remember that depressing times in our lives when I _died_? And then I came back as a skeleton? And then I remained that way for quite a long time?"

"Don't pull that, Pleasant," she growled.

"Well, in any case," he said, "Professor Grouse fixed me up with his weird French friend who provided his services in creating a _pill_ for this." He gestured to his body. "It's come in handy a few times, I admit."

"So _that's_ how you made the girl!" Eshara shouted. "I figured it was some disturbing skeleton organ paradox thing."

"No," he chuckled, "things don't work like that."

"When we're you married?" she asked.

"About eighteen years ago," he answered.

"When did you fall in love?"

"Before human," he muttered. "I may be a skeleton, yet I'm still a _person_."

"Last time I had come you said that wasn't true."

"Well it's been fifty years. I do believe people change." Skulduggery got up and began walking out. "I hope you've changed, Eshara."

"I have, Brother. I'll prove it when need be."

"I would hope so," he muttered, but he paused a moment. "There's an extra room on the left side. Third door down."

"You know me well, Brother," she grinned. He grunted once then sauntered off, hands in his pockets.

* * *

"I certainly refuse to stay in the car!" Eshara shouted at her brother. "I have not seen the Sanctuary in over sixty years! I want to know what it looks like!"

"Really," Skulduggery sighed, "it hasn't changed." His disguise was wrapped around his skull tightly.

"Well I do not give a crap, so I will come with you and Miss Navy whether you like it or not." Eshara shouted in triumph as Skulduggery finally agreed. Eshara jumped out of the Bentley and followed her brother and Lyra into the wax museum. They reached the statue. He nodded and let them enter swiftly. The wall collapsed behind the three as Skulduggery led them all into the main room of the Sanctuary.

People were buzzing around, carrying files and huge stacks of papers. Someone ran by with a box. Convicts were being lead around to all doors, with a cleaver following behind them.

"It's totally changed!" Eshara shouted at Skulduggery.

"Not to me, it hasn't," he replied cheekily and craned his skinny neck. He paused and removed his sunglasses and wig, placing them in his pocket. He spotted Guild across the room and sighed dramatically.

"I suppose you wouldn't be willing to come with me, would you?" he asked Abby.

She shook her head. "Not if you want an incident like last time." Skulduggery nodded once and directed the two to wait there, and for Eshara not to go wandering off. He left them and went over to Guild, who was scowling at him before he even said a word to him.

"What happened last time?" Eshara asked quietly.

"_Somehow_ Guild's beard caught fire. I don't know how it happened," Abby replied and smirked. "We all hate that man."

Eshara smiled and nudged her on the shoulder. "So, tell me, magical discipline?"

"Elemental," she answered shortly, producing a flame to show it. "Not a very good one," she admitted as the flame snuffed out almost immediately.

"Have your parents not trained you much?"

"Well, some," Abby sighed, "but Grandpa Kenspeckle doesn't want me involved with all of this. He thinks I should…not be magical. But I can't very well see how that's possible when my father is a skeleton." She huffed and crossed her arms. Her coat made by Ghastly swayed.

Eshara shrugged. "I've only met Professor Grouse once, and he declared that he didn't like me, but what I've heard from your father on occasion is that he means well. Didn't he pull that with your mother?"

Abby nodded. "Practically all the time. The day she hit 18, he kept trying to get her to forget this and go to a college or something."

"Did she?"

"Well I'm standing before you," Abby replied, "so what do you think?"

Eshara laughed. "A trademark of the Pleasant-Firefox-Case-Prop-Fray family. We always have a snappy remark."

"I get it from my mom too," Abby sighed. "Who's Case, Prop, and Fray?"

"Our parents. Case was my mother, Prop was your dad's mother, and Fray was our father."

Abby nodded, understanding the confusing bloodlines of her actual grandparents. "Was it scandalous? Your father having a child with your mother?"

"No, he wasn't married or anything. I'm twenty years old than your dad. He was a cute little boy…" Eshara trailed off, lost in the past. Her mind snapped back after a few moments when Abigail groaned. "What is it?"

"Wreath is coming," she breathed and automatically straightened when the famed necromancy came to stand before the two.

"Lyra Navy," he said, "fancy meeting you here. I hadn't seen or heard from you or your family in a bit. How's the missing mother case going?"

"Just swell, Wreath," she retorted and stepped forward, standing straighter.

"Leave her be, Solomon," Eshara growled. Wreath tore his gaze from the young girl and faced Eshara.

"It's an even greater fancy meeting you here, Eshara. It's been, what, 200 years? I miss your company." His swished his black cane in the air. "What brings you into the western parts? I thought you were primarily south?"

"I heard some news on the Red Way talking about Skulduggery Pleasant and the missing Valkyrie Cain. I figured I might come up here and lend a hand."

"With you here what could go wrong?" he asked cheekily. His shadows instantly sent a shield up as Eshara lunged forward, gripped his shoulders and forcing him closer.

"You big baby!" she whispered darkly in his ear. "When will you ever let it go? I can't believe that you're still _hung up_ on _that_ incident that was over 250 years ago!"

Wreath sneered. "I wouldn't be talking, Eshara."

"Break it up!" came the whining, shrill voice of Detective Remus Crux. The crowd around Wreath and Eshara parted to let the man through. Crux stood and thrust his "chin" out and glared down at them. "If you're going to fight, do it somewhere else. And who are you?" He gestured to Eshara.

She let go of Wreath and stepped back. "I'm Eshara Firefox, a friend of Skulduggery Pleasant."

Crux laughed once and crossed his arms. "'A friend' you say? Does he even know what 'friends' are?"

"Hey!" Abby shouted and lunged. She raised her fist, but a Cleaver rushed in to grab her before she landed the punch of Crux's ugly face. She struggled against the Cleaver. "Put me down!"

"Why would you even rescue Valkyrie Cain when there's a clone of her right here?" Crux shouted, obviously impressed with his "joke". Skulduggery appeared next to him and literally glared Crux out of the way. The Cleaver dropped Abby and she landed rather ungracefully on her feet. Skulduggery grabbed her shoulder and nodded to Eshara. They rushed out of the Sanctuary, past the statues in the wax museum, and out to the Bentley.

When Skulduggery pulled away from the curb, Eshara finally spoke. "Why did I want to come in there in the first place?"

* * *

Yeeep. Sorry for the epic fails on multiple parts. For one, it was waaay too long. Usually, my chapters are around 4-5 pages. This is 10. D: Second, this is boring. Nothing really happened. Third, sorry for the lamesauce ending. I couldn't think of anything, and you know me and my crap endings! XD

In other news, I have discovered the _true_ magic of Disney. I have a giant (72 songs, not counting the background/instrumental stuff) Disney playlist that kept me super motivated to write. It worked for my sister even!

So, expect the next chapter to have something _interesting_ in it and I apologize for any mistakes here! :D


	3. Evil Engineers

Lalalalalalala…Did anyone see the Percy Jackson movie? Because personally, being a _hardcore _PJ fan, I loooved it!

The **bold **words are people yelling. TYPING IN ALL CAPS GETS SLIGHTLY ANNOYING AT TIMES, AM I RIGHT? I KNOW I DO IT ALL THE TIME, BUT NOT WHILE WRITING THE ACTUAL STORY. THAT GETS SEMI-OBNOXIOUS AFTER A WHILE.

But the **bold** numbers are…just bolded. It made it easier for me.

Heehee *hearts*

* * *

Rin Marlow was not the average seventeen year old girl, that was a bit obvious. It was not obvious to the outside world, however. The outside world would assume that she was a teenage girl, living with her older _adoptive_ brother. Why adoptive? Because Rin Marlow came from an ancient Chinese dynasty, and was over four thousand years old, while Elian Ford came from Portugal in the 1400's.

Rin's face was small and soft, like a Chinese doll. Her features were cat like, giving her an air of stealth. She was charismatic, convincing hundreds of teenagers to join them. Of course, when they did, she had Elian knock them out with their old cricket bat, and then cut open their chest and either stored or ate their heart.

It was nasty work, to say the least.

Rin Marlow had run away from her dynasty family when her mother had arranged a marriage between her and the biggest man in their village. She had left in the night, and took refuge in the mountains. She was presumed dead not long after.

She took to wandering the countryside after that. She came across villages, staying the night in a few kind people's homes, and then departing early the next morning. It was when she had come across a village, and witnessed a terrifying site, that she became the way she was now.

An old woman had knocked out a man and was dragging him to her little hut. Rin ran to the little window to look in, and saw the woman devour the man in a matter of seconds. She gasped when the old woman noticed her and tried running, but the old lady was faster than she looked. She had taken Rin and flung her over her shoulders, dragging her to the mountains and explaining her life.

The old woman was not really old, and it was just a disguise. This woman had been alive since the dawn of time and had been _bestowed _with a gift, she said. Rin was intrigued. She didn't know why she had allowed the woman to teach her these terrible things, but she did at that. The woman and her became partners, that is until hunters struck the village, searching for the murderer of the recently eaten man.

The woman confessed and was instantly killed with a spear through the heart. The spear had come straight through the chest, carrying the beating lump with it. Everyone stood in shock as Rin, on instinct, grabbed the heart and sprinted away. Rin had taken it to the mountains and was amazed it still beat.

She figured that if this woman had that power to keep her beating heart still pumping, Rin could as well.

And that led Miss Rin Marlow to a life of crime and murder, stealing people and taking them for weeks on end. She devoured them sometimes, ate their hearts, or simply switched hearts. It was fun and kept her entertained for a few centuries.

When Rin arrived in Portugal in 1459, she saw a man being attacked by two much older men. She ran up to them and attacked the men, taking their own knives and gutting them. Her greedy hands reached for the hearts and she yanked them out, depositing them both in her pockets. She turned to see the attacked man staring at her with glazed over eyes. She quickly explained her life, as the man said he wouldn't let her go without an explanation.

The man had begged to let him come along with her, but she had refused. But the man had rebutted with he was a prime witness to this murder and would turn her in. Rin Marlow seethed, but eventually let Elian Ford join her ranks.

Rin taught the magic to Elian, revealing the secrets to immortality and the ability to kill without actually killing. The two had been together for years and had grown close, but never closer than friendship. Rin had sworn to be a maiden her whole life, and Elian respected that.

Elian Ford was nineteen years old, give or take a few hundred years. It came in handy when Rin would force them to move, so he had the ability to buy a house. The money came from illegal means, of course. Neither of them had worked to earn it.

Currently, Rin had forced them to move west again, to her favorite place: Ireland. Their house was located on an old street, and this street was completely defaced. It was old and rundown, with only a few other inhabitants. Rin had picked it for two reasons: the first being that it was the perfect house. It had a big basement, and just enough room in the attic. The second reason was for the magic. This was a magical street, which suited Rin's needs perfectly...

* * *

"**Elian**!" Rin Marlow screamed from the third story attic. "**Where's 8259**?"

"**How the heck should I know**?" Elian Ford shouted back from the kitchen on the first story. "**You're the freak who organizes everything. I couldn't find my socks this morning**!"

"**That's because,**" Rin shouted as she descended the stairs and jumped down from the banister onto the first story, "you need to look in the specific drawer where I _told_ you to look!"

"Well _where_ did you tell me to look? I'm a nineteen year old guy. Why would I remember where you put my socks?"

"Because if you ask me about these friggin' socks again, I won't even clean them again," Rin said, standing in front of Elian. He casually looked up from his comic book, and they had a glaring match.

"I remember seeing **8259** down in the basement. You told me to put it next to **10256** to remind you to switch the two," Elian muttered. "Want me to do it?"

"We'll both do it," Rin replied. "I have a feeling that **10256** might take some time."

"Why do you say that?" Elian sipped his coffee and Coke.

"She matches the descriptions of a rather well-known person," Rin sighed.

"It better not be Angelina Jolie!" Elian laughed.

Rin stuck her tongue out. "You idiot, you were there when we got her."

Elian stuck his tongue right back out and put his cup and plate in the kitchen sink. "If you need me," he said, "I'll be upstairs. This house is too boring. We need something to do."

Rin nodded. "This is true. I'll make arrangements to send me to high school."

"It sounds good. We can get some hot teenage girls- HEY!" He ducked away as Rin threw her other shoe at his head. He laughed and bolted off before she came charging at him. She sighed and plopped down at the kitchen table. She watched a servant wander by, completely dazed.

Rin got up and headed to the attic. The attic was dark, like most attics, but this had stacks and stacks of boxes containing glass jars with a yellow gel in it. In the yellow gel was a heart. Each heart could life for approximately eight years away from a body, Rin had discovered. Many of these people she captured, then kept them for years and years, and then released them, fully restored to normal.

She reached into the box marked **5000-5020 **and pulled out jar number **5017**. She reached her hand in the jar and yanked out the beating object. She laid it on the table, grabbed a sharp knife, and cut it straight down the middle. It split into two parts, beating at the same time. She took the left part and placed it gingerly in the jar again and carried the right half downstairs.

Rin paused as Elian's room. "Want to help?" she asked.

The door opened and Elian stepped out. "Sounds fun!" He grinned and dusted his hands off on his khaki shorts and followed Rin downstairs to the basement. People wandered about, making way for the two to enter into the second room to the left. There were mostly females in this room, each sitting on a chair, table, bed, or the dirty floor. The swanky British girl sauntered up to them.

"Who's gonna get it today, then, huh?" she asked. Her accent was incredibly thick. "I hope it's new girl. She just pisses us all off, don't she?" The other girls in the room nodded hesitantly.

Rin frowned and motioned for the girl to move out of the way. Elian stepped over the almost motionless bodies on the ground, stopping at the bed in the far corner. He brought the table from the end of the bed next to Rin. She placed the heart on the table and removed the jar labeled **8259** from under the bed and put it next to the half heart.

Rin approached the victim on the bed and yanked the covers down and allowed Elian to pull the victim's shirt up. Rin removed a long knife from her boot and made a long slice by the victim's left breast. Blood began pouring out, but Elian flexed his hand and it seeped back into the body. Rin reached in into the victim's chest and pulled hard. Her head emerged, covered in blood, holding a soft beating heart. She dropped it on the table with a _squish_ and pulled the heart from the jar out. She cut that in half and took the left side. The right side of the other heart was picked up by Elian. They put the two beating objects together.

Blood and the body tissue formed and made a seam in a way, forming the one object. Rin placed the delicate object in the body and connected the heart valves. They waited for the blood to begin again, and soon it oozed out onto the chest and stomach. Elian pulled it away and let it drip back into the body. He slid his finger on the slit in the victim's stomach and it instantly healed and reformed new skin across it.

Elian pulled the shirt down and placed his tanned hand over the person's eyes. He muttered something in ancient Chinese, then removed his hand and instantly backed away. Rin grabbed the jar and the original heart of their victim.

"Remember why she's famous?" Elian asked.

Rin nodded and licked the blood from her hand. "Yes, she's in the magical world. I don't remember her name, but here's a picture I found in her pocket." Rin whipped her non-bloodied hand to her back pocket and showed Elian a picture. He noticed a skinny man, with a long tan overcoat looking the other way, while a girl who looked like the victim was standing next to him, staring at the flame in her hand.

"That would definitely be magic," Elian said.

"Indeed," Rin agreed and took the picture back. "Wake up," she directed at the victim. The bed creaked as their victim strained to sit up. They remained silent, staring at the wall.

"How are you today?" Elian asked sweetly.

"Not doing so hot," the victim replied. "Do something about these terrible conditions I'm livin' in! For God's sake, I'm not a disgusting farm animal!" They turned to stare at Elian and Rin, and then stared at the wall again.

"It's like a robot," Elian grinned.

"I'm not a robot," their victim muttered.

"Of course," Rin said. "Now, we have a mission for you." She pulled the picture out from behind her back, revealing the man and the girl. "Do you know who these people are?"

The victim shook their head. "Never seen 'em in my life."

"Alright," Rin nodded. "I want you to go to this place." She pulled out another piece of paper with an address written on it. "This is, I assume, your home. These people, again, I assume are your husband and daughter."

The victim took the picture and studied it a moment. "I don't remember no husband. And I sure as heck don't remember popping out a baby girl."

"Well you're not you," Rin smiled and ushered the victim to stand up. They did with shaky legs. "So, when you get to this house, come in through a back window, then sneak around until you find these people."

"Remember to act like a mother and a wife, since you are these things," Elian added. "Don't want you to act like an actual murderer, now do we?" He clapped the prisoner on their back and dragged them out of the room. The British girl from before stood behind Rin, watching her movements warily.

"You're sendin' her to kill her own family?" she asked, a little horrified.

Rin nodded. "It takes a murderer's heart, plus a gymnast's to give them the extra moves to kill. It's an entertaining combination." Rin turned and faced the girl. "It's what I do. Be lucky I didn't send to kill your family." She picked up the jar and remains of the other heart, and then went on her merry way. She stopped at the front door and watched just as Elian was directed the victim to scale the wall, and then hop from roof to roof. They stepped onto the patio and watched Valkyrie Cain do somersault after somersault across roof after roof.

* * *

I made it as obvious as possible, ya'll. Hope you grabbed my clues. Get ready for the neeext chapter! Sorry for any mistakes and danke for reading! :D


	4. Shrill Screams

Lalalalalalala…Getting a beginning was hard for this ):

…So…this is me being an obnoxious America and insinuating that only we use terrible slang and barely speak in full sentences, but does the UK/Ireland (I know they're the same thing, but just clarifying it) use the term "bucks"? Like… "I've got 100 bucks!" Like that? And if you don't…it's money…and stuff. I know it's not dollars, especially since my German class partner and I did a giant menu project and we had to say the prices in euros and it was weird.

Aaaanyways. The end.

YOU AUSTRALIANS. GETTING DARK DAYS BEFORE THE UK AND THE US. NO SPOILERS (though I already have a hunch about one thing). WARS ARE STARTED WHEN I GET SPOILED.

…Done now.

* * *

_Tap tap._

_Tap tap._

"Wonder if that's your dad," Eshara muttered, staring up at the ceiling, listening to the eerie tapping coming from the second floor. She looked across at Abby. "Didn't he say he was going on the roof or something?"

Skulduggery sighed from across the room. "Are you _blind_?" he asked. "Eshara, I'm right here."

She laughed and grinned big at her brother. "Think there's a bear up there?"

"Why would there be a bear in the second story?" Abby asked.

Eshara shrugged. "Or maybe it's a pigeon."

"They all flew south," Abby replied. "Why would there be a pigeon tapping at the windows in the first place? Does it see its friend in here or something? Uncle Gordon has a stuffed duck in his study."

"That is plausible," Eshara said. "Well, that's getting obnoxious. I'm going to see what it is, and if it's a bear, you both owe me fifty bucks." She clicked her tongue and hoisted herself up from the floor in the living room. She staggered up the stairs and slunk around the second story floor, and only stopped when she saw a figure dressed in dark clothes slip in through the window in the study.

Eshara screamed.

The person – they were female – screamed back momentarily, but then seemed to remember something and stopped screaming. "Hush up!" she shouted at Eshara.

She stopped screaming. The new woman cocked her head to the left a bit, and then broke out into a smile. "I haven't seen you in so long!" the woman shouted and swung her arms around Eshara. Eshara struggled under the newcomer's arms, but finally broke free and ripped the woman off of her.

Both females turned when they heard heavy footsteps in the hallway. A figure ran past the door, but the footsteps suddenly stopped and they skidded to a halt. The footsteps returned in their direction, and Abby burst through the doorway. Her black hair whipped her in the face as she started to rush out again, but then she stopped. Her green and brown eyes caught site of her mother's face and she screamed too.

"For God's sake!" Skulduggery shouted through the house. "Enough screaming! Three feminine and high-pitched screams all within three minutes. Eshara, someone else, and then you, Lyra." His footsteps picked up speed when he saw Abby standing in the doorway of the study. "What is it?" He stepped up next to her and inhaled sharply.

"Valkyrie," he breathed, tilting his head in affection. "You decide to show up when you feel like it, do you?" He folded his arms and tapped his finger against his upper arm.

Valkyrie licked her lips, unsure of her next actions. "I do as I please…" She paused and flicked her hair back. "Darling," she muttered finally and brushed past Abby and gave a hesitant kiss to Skulduggery. She laughed once, and then sauntered out the door, doing back-flips down the hallway.

"Go make sure she doesn't back-flip down the stairs," Skulduggery directed Abby. "Keep a close eye on her, since I don't really think she's normal."

"I've never seen her even down a real cartwheel. The last time she tried she knocked over Aunt Tanith."

"Is she competing to be in the Olympics?" Eshara asked.

Skulduggery groaned and nodded at Abby. "Please, kid?" Abby nodded once and bolted away from them, following her slightly crazed "mother" down the stairs.

"That is most certainly not Valkyrie Cain," Skulduggery stated. "Either she's just delirious and confused, or it's an impersonator."

"I met a guy who could do that once," Eshara said. "He posed as our father. Creepy guy. I punched him in the face and kicked him to the curb."

"Focus, please."

"Right," Eshara sighed, "I don't think that's her either. I've never met her, right?"

Skulduggery scoffed. "Why ask me?"

"Shush, Brother. Fake Cain hugged me, and said that she hadn't seen me in so long. That's not the thing you say to someone who didn't even know you existed, let alone even met. Whatever her kidnappers did to her, they messed her up good. They probably told her to pose as a mother," she said. "I don't even know how she even knew to get here, since that's not Valkyrie."

"Right," Skulduggery groaned, "that's been established."

"Sorry about that, Brother. I'm not trying to rub in the fact that your loving wife and mother of your child is missing and when she finally does turn up, she's a bit psycho and is probably bent on murdering us all." Eshara paused. "…Oh."

"Well, keep trying to not do that. You're sucking at it now."

Eshara smiled weakly and patted her baby brother. "Meh, she'll be fine with a few hours at the Professor's. He'll fix her up after he's done yelling at us and everything we stand for."

Skulduggery laughed once. His head tilted to the side in thought, but it was cut short when there was _another_ scream. The brother and sister charged out of the room. Eshara sprinted ahead of her brother, pausing to sit down on the banister of the stairs and slide down. She stood up while halfway down, letting the air continuing to carry her as she quick jumped off the end of the banister head, then hurried into the kitchen. Skulduggery was a few paces behind her.

Valkyrie Cain stood on the counters with an incredibly sharp knife in her hand. Abby was standing on the table, with an apple corer in her hand. Valkyrie had a small cut on her cheek and Abby's hand was bleeding slowly.

"I thought I was doin' good!" the fake Valkyrie shouted. "You guys are just _too_ smart I suppose." She flipped the knife up in the air, then caught it with her other hand and hopped from the counter. Skulduggery stepped up to her. They both drew to full height, so their eyes were pretty much level.

"It would seem to be that way," he said. "Do you know who sent you?"

Valkyrie shook her head. "I woke up in a dark room, yelled at these two people, then the boy sent me away. I remember him being remotely cute, but nobody I'd really go for."

"Well that's always good to hear," Skulduggery replied. He kept his gaze set on Valkyrie. "Don't do anything reckless, Lyra," he directed to his daughter. "Wouldn't want you to get hurt."

Abby sighed and threw the apple corer across the floor and jumped from the table and stood at the back of the kitchen, near the refrigerator. "Is this faraway enough for you?"

"Perfect." He tore away his gaze from the fake Valkyrie Cain long enough to nod once at his daughter. He could see Valkyrie tilt her body out of the corner of his eye. She swung her forearm out, catching Skulduggery in the chest. He returned fire quickly by dropping to the floor and kicking Valkyrie's legs out from under his. She collapsed in a heap. The knife in her hand went flying across the tiled floor, and Eshara dived to grab it. It slid into her hand easily, and she staggered up closer to her brother.

Valkyrie untangled her limbs and from underneath herself and stood up, but not quite quick enough. She looked down at the gun Skulduggery was holding and pointing towards her chest.

"That would suck if you shot me," she stated.

"I know." He cocked the gun. "It's why I really don't want to do so."

She shrugged. "I guess I wouldn't really mind. It wouldn't kill me. It wouldn't actually kill me, but there would be a major mess in her. Blood and guts and all. They _ain't_ pretty."

"I agree," Eshara commented. Both turned to glare at her.

"How could it not kill you?" Skulduggery asked. Her comments had set his mind running. Could he kill this imposter? Would they just come back?

"I don't know, but Mommy's Instinct, right?" she grinned. "There's something telling me somehow that no matter what you do to me, I won't die." When the words finished coming out of her mouth, Skulduggery glanced up at his daughter, standing on the kitchen counters behind Valkyrie. He nodded sharply.

Abby, or Lyra, took the china plate she was holding and threw it at Valkyrie's head. It collided with a loud _crash_ and it broke into bits and pieces. Valkyrie lurched forward and collapsed onto her hands and knees. She groaned loudly as a piece of glass fell from her long hair and got lodged into her hand. She heard sneakers hitting the floor quick and groaned again.

"That wasn't nice," fake Valkyrie said.

Abby shrugged and bent down. "Not my fault you're not my actual mother."

"Not my fault I hate you," she shot back and took her elbow back and struck Abby's face fast. There was a loud cracking and Abby stumbled back. She coughed a few times, then reached for a glass piece and threw it at the fake Valkyrie. Abigail placed her hand to her bleeding and broken nose and frowned. Skulduggery bent down next to his daughter.

"I was expecting an apple or something," he muttered, "not a giant plate. But, nonetheless, I think she's incapacitated." Valkyrie groaned. Her hand shot out, but Eshara dived and found the nerve point in her neck and gave quick pinch. Valkyrie instantly collapsed, and the glass fell down from her.

"Yeah, I think she's down for the count," she added and flopped down next to Abby. "Want me to get her to the Professor's? You can clean up here. I don't really know anything about cleaning."

"Won't want history to repeat itself," he said back and placed a skeletal hand on Abby's back. "What's broken?" He brought her hand back slowly, but she pulled it back.

"It's my nose," Abby muttered, holding her face in her hand.

"Professor should have that fixed right up in no time!" Eshara smiled and poked her leg.

Skulduggery nodded. "Trust Eshara enough to let her take you?" he asked.

Abby laughed and nodded a few times. "I won't get blood on the Bentley," she said with a slight smile.

Eshara grinned and helped her up. They both ran out to the Bentley, and Eshara revved the engines and pulled away from the curb. They cruised along for a bit, until Eshara parked the beautiful car by the Hibernian Cinema and led Abigail inside. Abby passed through the curtain first, and almost ran into Clarabelle.

"What happened?" she asked slowly.

"My nose," Abby answered and brushed past her. Eshara smiled at Clarabelle and slipped past her too. They both entered the lab doors and Kenspeckle began muttering without facing them.

"I said to only come in here with Valkyrie," he grumbled and put away some papers. "Pleasant, you better have a good reason for coming in here at…" He paused and looked at his watch. "At 10:56 at night! Dear God, no limits."

"Relax, Grandpa Kenspeckle," Abby said.

He turned and frowned. His frown deepened when he saw Eshara standing farther behind. He gestured at Abigail to sit on the bed. He removed her hand from her nose and dabbed at her skin with a small cloth and instantly, the blood had disappeared. He touched her nose gingerly and poked it a few times, before tapping it twice and setting it. He spread a sweet smelling oil on the appendage and let it sit for a moment.

"Professor that was really awesome," Eshara said lightly.

"No sucking up, Miss Firefox," he replied.

"How do you know I'm not married?" she shot back. Abby snorted from her place on the bed. Eshara glared.

"Because Mr. Pleasant had dropped by, filling me in on your return. I hear A-" He caught himself. "I hear Lyra gave a mouthing off to you."

Eshara nodded and glanced down. "Not _my_ fault that I was curious. I wanted to see where my brother lived! What a strange place."

"Uncle Gordon will be crushed to hear that," Abby chimed in from the bed.

"Well I haven't even met him, so I don't think he'll mind," Eshara said.

"No, he'll mind," Abby said and smiled. Kenspeckle approached her again and wiped away the oil, and replaced it with a more sharper smelling gel.

The night went on, and Abby's nose healed fine. Eshara explained what had happened with the fake Valkyrie and how Skulduggery had her. Kenspeckle wanted to take a look, but upon realizing it was midnight, declared that he would yell at Mr. Pleasant about it the next day.

Eshara and Abby climbed back into the Bentley and sped off back to the house. Skulduggery stood leaned up against the doorway, staring at the glass bits.

"What's wrong?" Eshara asked, realizing something was up the moment she saw her brother like that.

Skulduggery looked up at them. "How's your nose?" he asked Abby.

"Fine," she replied. "What happened with fake Mom?"

He sighed. "She got away."

* * *

Woah. I hate this chapter. This chapter is infuriating. I'm sorry it sucks so much. It was near impossible to write.

I apologize for this fail of a chapter, and I'm sorry for mistakes, and thanks for reading though :]


	5. Tired Talks

I love your reviews.

I also love **Artemis Fowl**.

Also, Artemis was totally born on my birthday, because at one point in the fifth book, he put in the code **0109** (or January 9th). HA. TAKE THAT.

But there's speculation as to if it's September 9 or January 9…D:

I'm also going to marry Artemis. Wanna come to the wedding?

I'm also thinking of doing an Artemis Fowl and Skulduggery Pleasant crossover, because the epicness of that would just be…better than LIAM NEESON. (And that's near impossible!)

I'm also thinking I should getting started with this chapter.

:D

But before I begin…I apologize for this.

* * *

_He sighed. "She got away."_

Eshara frowned and ushered everyone inside. Abby shut the door and carefully avoided the glass bits that had been scattered when her fake mother ran off.

"How is that possible? I do that nerve pinch thing and it should last for hours, and when they finally do wake up, they're incredibly disorientated that they can barely form a sentence!" Eshara shouted. "Is this wife of yours some invincible warrior?"

Abby shrugged. "Sometimes. And besides," she said, "that wasn't actually Mom. It was…someone or something different."

Skulduggery nodded and picked up a chunk of glass plate from the ground. "Did the Professor say anything about it?"

"I explained it all to him," Eshara said, "and he said that he'd look at her tomorrow – or technically today, since it's actually 12:30 in the morning – but now I don't think that's going to happen. How she'd get away?"

"You two left and I quickly hoisted her up onto the table," Skulduggery explained." I checked her pulse and got rid of the blood and glass from her hands. As I turned to throw them away, she groaned and…had a seizure it seemed."

"So…she just started convulsing?"

He nodded. "Yes, and after that, fake Valkyrie jumped from the table, hit the floor, shouted at me-"

"What did she shout?" Eshara interrupted.

"She said something about a woman eating my heart, and that was about it. After that, she bolted away before I could catch her."

No one said anything for a few moments, until Abby broke the silence. "So," she said, "we have a new villain, and they like to eat hearts. Well, I don't think things could get any weirder."

Eshara laughed. "Well, Brother doesn't have a heart, literally and metaphorically, so no worries about him."

"That was harsh, Eshara," Skulduggery said, feigning hurt. Eshara laughed and poked his skull lightly. He huffed and flicked her shoulder.

"Alright, let's stop before it's a full on family fist-fight," Abby said, stepping in between the two. "I don't think there's much we can do now."

"Yes sir!" Eshara saluted Abby. Abigail smiled and turned sharply, heading up the stairs. She pushed the door open to her room and greeted the Echo Gordon.

"What brings you here?" she asked him. Everyone called him Uncle Gordon, though he was _just_ Valkyrie's uncle.

He shrugged. "I just wondered where you were. I haven't been filled in on the recent events. What's with the glass bits on the ground downstairs?"

Abigail sighed and filled in Gordon everything that had happened the past days. She told him of Eshara's coming, how Wreath kept picking on them at the Sanctuary, and how Valkyrie had appeared, only to turn evil and wreak havoc.

"I threw a plate on my own mother's head," Abby muttered, slightly horrified and slightly amused by it. It wasn't everyday a teenager got to beat up their parents.

Gordon laughed. "I'm sure she won't mind when you tell her the circumstances," he said cheerily. "So, what's your aunt like? I've never met her. Is she anything like Skulduggery?"

Abigail paused to think of an answer. "Well, you know how Dad would just do something to make an awkward situation _not_ awkward?" Gordon nodded. "Well, she'd be the one to openly say, 'This is awkward,' and make things more awkward."

"She sounds…"

"Weird."

"I was going to say something nicer, but I suppose that covers it," Gordon chuckled. "How are you holding up? Have you been going to school?"

"I went for a little bit," Abby said, "but Dad said I could take off for a little, as long as I go a few days next week. He never had a problem with Mom not going when she was my age; I don't see why he wants me to go so bad."

"Valkyrie was a different case, kid," Gordon explained. "Valkyrie is incredibly stubborn."

"Well I'm stubborn too," Abby exclaimed. "Why am I always forced to go to school? I _hate_ school. It's not fun, and I suck at math."

"But you have friends."

"And Mom didn't?"

"No," Gordon answered truthfully. "Really, her only friends were around 100 years older than her. And you've got your Mr. Not Exactly My Boyfriend And Yet We Know We Like Each Other there at school, and Valkyrie did not."

Abby blushed and threw a hair-tie at the Echo Gordon. "Shut up about him," she grumbled and sat down on her bed. "And…"

"_And_?" Gordon prodded. "There's an 'and'? What is this 'and' that you speak of? Is there _another_ man chasing after you? We'll have to get your father after him."

"Hush! But…Mike and I…we're sort of official now."

Gordon's shimmering mouth dropped open as he flailed around the room, mumbling things about boys and girls. Abby smiled as he continued to float around the room. Someone knocked on the door and quietly slipped in.

"What's wrong with Gordon?" Skulduggery asked.

Abby shrugged. "He's crazy."

"Your daughter is crazy!" Gordon shouted.

"That has been established, yes," Skulduggery added cheekily, earning a hair-tie to go flying at him, too. He scowled and shot it back. "Yesterday," he said in all seriousness, "we discussed school. Do you want to go?"

Abigail thought for a moment, and looked at Gordon. "I think I'll go." And she smiled.

* * *

Rin Marlow furiously stomped around the illegally bought house, pushing everyone who got in her way to the floor. Through her magic, she had seen everything that had happened at the victim's house, and couldn't believe that the victim hadn't just stabbed everyone then and there. She stopped storming around as she stepped on something hard. Rin looked down at the floor and noticed she had stepped on the foot of someone leaning against the wall. She furiously kicked the leg out of the way and continued throughout the house. She sensed her victim bumbling around the streets of Dublin, knocking over trashcans and running into people.

The victim was dazed and confused, since she hadn't completely recovered from the nerve pinch and was being controlled from afar from Elian.

Rin climbed the rickety stairs to the second floor and burst into Elian's room. He was sitting peacefully on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Rin watched him a moment, then began stepping away.

"Wait," he mumbled. "This girl is hard to control." Rin nodded once and went to sit next to him on the bed. He held his hands out to her, and she grabbed them tightly. They together linked their minds with that of the victim's. They watched through her eyes and felt everything she felt. They watched her crash into a man with shaggy blond hair. She apologized once in Portuguese, and the man began yelling obscenities at her. Rin frowned, hearing the words roll of the man's tongue. She never was one for swearing. They watched as their victim tripped over someone, sending both careening into the hard concrete. Their victim's hand and face were damaged, and the other person seemed to get a broken nose.

"I think it'd be best if we just forced her home," Elian said into the silence.

Rin nodded. "Probably the better decision for the people of Ireland." And together again, they poured their magic in a huge mass, directing their victim home.

Elian and Rin had steered their victim closer to their home, and there were barely any people out. The only people that _were_ out were drunkards. They wouldn't be able to tell it was some famous magical person.

Elian sat back against the wall. "So," he said casually, "what are your plans for this person now?"

"We'll let her rest," Rin decided. "But eventually, we'll get her back out there and get her to do something terrible."

* * *

Meh. Meeeeeeeh.

But thank you for sticking with this boring chapter, and I apologize for its nothingness. The next will have…Actually nevermind :D

Anyways, sorry for any mistakes! :3


	6. Discuss Dirty Deeds

Blargh.

I don't like my teachers.

I just found out that instead Artemis Fowl was born on September 1st, and not my birthday. This saddens me more than it should.

* * *

Rin and Elian's victim returned to the dark and dreary neighborhood at 10:30 that next morning, since she had gotten lost as Rin and Elian had left her alone for a few hours. She stumbled up on the steps and crashed into the door, frightening many of the heartless people residing in the house. Rin rushed to open the door, and the body of their victim slumped over and they collapsed onto the ground.

Rin groaned and hoisted her up, controlling her with the magic inside her body. She led them downstairs and to the bed in which they occupied for the time being. Each victim always received a bed, though the condition was not always top-notch.

"Sleep, please," Rin said lightly, sending the messages to their victim's brain and heart, forcing them to lie down on the bed. She instantly curled up like a cat and remained still; her breathing was just barely there.

Rin stepped back and turned to the stairs again, and found Elian in the living room, reading a thick novel. He was laying on the couch and held the book an arm's length away.

"What was the crashing sound?" he asked slowly.

"Just the girl returning and slamming into the door and falling on the floor," she replied.

"Ah," he grinned, "nothing out of the ordinary. But I do wonder what the pieces of glass are doing on the floor around here."

Rin frowned and got up slowly, examining the floor, and she did notice some glass shards. "Did they come from her?"

Elian shrugged beside her. "Could be. Let me go check." He put his book down and rushed down the stairs and into the basement. He examined the woman closely, and saw a few cuts and scrapes on her cheeks, head, hands, and other places. Some glass bits were laying by her hair on the pillow.

"I think that these have come from her, yes," he announced, holding a few more. "She has a few scratches and minor cuts, but nothing serious about them. I can fix her up if need be."

"That would be lovely, thank you Elian," Rin replied, cleaning the shards up from the floor and putting them into the trashcan. Elian gave a salute and stalked off downstairs again to give the new girl a "healing."

* * *

Abigail balanced the pencil she was doing her homework with on her nose and held it there a few seconds before it fell and she caught it in her hand. She flipped it back up and placed it on the table. Abby flexed her hand slowly, feeling the little spaces where everything connected, as her parents taught her. She grinned as the pencil went flying through the air and hit the wall. She got up to examine the little hole left in the wall by the object.

"What might you be looking at?" Eshara wondered aloud as she waltzed into the kitchen. She bent down to Abby's height and stared at the hole in the wall. "Did you lightly punch it with your knuckle?"

"No," Abby smirked, "that's just dumb. I hit it with the pencil."

"Ah, throwing writing utensils around, now are we?"

No, just doing my magic," Abby replied.

Eshara nodded, grinning. "Well, no catapulting pencils into other people. That would be considered assault, and believe me, you can get arrested for assaulting someone from 18 feet away."

"My half-aunt, ladies and gentlemen!" Abby shouted playfully, clapping for Eshara. She laughed and bowed deeply, then took the pencil from Abby and sent it shooting up into the air. It lodged itself into the ceiling and stayed there.

"Didn't mean for that to happen," she muttered sheepishly, grinning as Abby sent another pencil up after it. They launched four pencils into the ceiling, both while giggling madly.

"Now," Abby said, still laughing, "how do we get them down?"

Eshara paused to think of an answer. "Magic," she said and waved her hands around.

"We could get Aunt Tanith here to get them."

"How would that help?"

"She can walk on walls," Abby said. "It's really unfair when you're trying to play tag, or something, since you can't ever get to her. And it's definitely not fun when Uncle Ghastly would try and get her down when she had to get a shot."

"How can you blame her?" Eshara shouted. "Shots are terrifying!"

"Please, I get them all the time, and they barely effect me."

"Well you're weird."

"You're one to talk."

"I think I _am_ the one to talk, thank you." Eshara watched a few pencils wobble around. "Who else could get these down?"

"A necromancer!"

"Ew," Eshara groaned, "I hate the whole lot of them."

"My mom's a necromancer…"

"And I'm sure she's a very lovely person, but I dislike her choice of magic path. I may love her as a person, yet hate her abilities."

"Why do you hate necromancers so much, then?" Abby asked. Eshara didn't answer at first. "I won't leave you alone until you tell me."

Eshara frowned and sunk down on the kitchen floor. "Stubborn jerk," she murmured and motioned for Abby to sit down by her. She did so, and eagerly looked up at the adult, waiting for the stories to begin.

"Alright, well the first thing you should know is that my mother was a necromancer," Eshara began. "She was pretty much like every necromancer: dark, wore black, and incredibly creepy. She was still a great mother, however. She cared for me when my father left us when I was ten – to go off and have your dad with his mom. She looked a lot like me: the tan skin, the hair, and we were both taller than average for women our age."

"Did your mother do something to make you hate necromancers?" Abby asked.

Eshara shrugged. "It was not her intention, but from her shoving it down my throat constantly, I got a little pissed at the whole magic profession. Of course, that did not stop me from my later life decisions. I'd say I was roughly around 50 when the War broke out. I'm sure your dad has explained it all to you, right?"

"Serpine, Vile, Mevolent, and Vengeous. The good and bad, and all that stuff. Did you fight along someone important?"

Eshara groaned and searched for the words. "He _was_ rather important, but is no longer…_alive_. He was believed to be killed in the War, but it's never been confirmed, nor has anyone found his body."

"Who?" Abby prodded. "Who?"

"Patience is a virtue, Lyra," Eshara responded, shifting on the kitchen tiled floor. "So, fighting in this war gave a new insight to my world, I guess, seeing a lot of people I cared about dying. When the war began, I had only seen your dad a few times in my life, since I sort of hated our father for abandoning my mom and I. But you dad seemed like a cute kid, if not haughty and cocky, which I suppose hasn't really changed. Anyway, I came across your father once in the battlefield. It was right after a huge major battle, and I think it was called The Exipotic, since it pretty much wiped out both of the armies –"

"What does exipotic mean?"

"To purge or something like that. It _purged_ both of the armies. But, continuing, I came across a lone man, wearing a dark suit, and he had dark hair; in other words, your father. He watched me approach, noticed my terrible uniform, and attacked."

"Dad attacked you? Why?"

"Take a guess."

Abby paused and thought for a minute. "Someone he loved had just died?"

"Not exactly, though I can't be sure. But guess again."

"I'm out of ideas. Was he just cranky?"

Eshara laughed a few times, but it quieted and she looked down at the floor. "I fought along side of one of your father's enemies."

Abby cringed back at the statement, shocked at the news. "You…Did you fight on the _evil _side of the War? Did you fight with Serpine?" she asked, afraid of the answer.

Eshara didn't say anything for a moment, but nodded once. "I was an important person him, yes. Though I primarily stayed with Lord Vile, I still helped out with Serpine's plans a few times. See, I would have ended on the good side, if my mother had not told me that being a necromancer would save my life. She was saying all these great things about it, but when I learned it, I found out it sucked. I _hated_ necromancy.

"But, getting back to the family fight, I kicked your dad down mercilessly. I began running away, and then caught up with Serpine. He asked me what happened to me, since I had a few bruises around my face. I explained to him what happened, and bam. That next week, I received news of Skulduggery Pleasant's untimely death."

Abby didn't say anything.

"Don't judge me. I have since changed. I wouldn't go through with something so terrible ever again. I have too many friends on the slightly better side, and I wouldn't abandon them. I swear on my life. I swear on…the grave of your father, though it's not that symbolic anymore."

"But," Abby eventually said, "I still don't know why you hate necromancers."

"Ah, well, after all the fighting and battle, blah de blah, I came across a man, around my age, a little older. Dark hair, black suit, dark eyes, light skin, _cane_."

"Wreath…"

"Exactly!" Eshara grinned. "Wreath and I met on the site from The Battle of the Generals, the last battle ever to take place in the War. I was helping with the bodies when he found me. We…became friends, if you will, and eventually, moved from the friendship stage into the romantic stage."

Abigail furrowed her brow, turning the information around in her head. "Are you in a soap opera?"

Eshara smiled. "I must say no to that one. But, we stayed together for quite a while, and I still keep a little thing of memorabilia from the relationship." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small ring. It had a gold band, with four small diamonds dotting the edge. "Dear Lyra Navy, imagine if I married your mother's necromancy teacher and knew you since you were a little baby. Just _imagine_ that for me."

"Wow," Abby muttered, looking at the ring more closely. "You almost married Solomon Wreath?"

Eshara nodded. "Trippy, isn't it? But, the relationship ended after a few hundred years, since we both had a terrible inability to trust one another. He stayed here in the Western parts, while I moved down to the South. I lived on the Red Way, which was like the magical city thing down there, with plenty of buildings for housing and necessities. But anyway, the reasons I hate necromancers: #1, they believe firmly in what they do. #2, I had a terrible break-up with one and almost killed him. #3, one of them murdered my brother, his wife, and child. You think your dad has an interesting story, but I've always believed mine was more dramatic. His is depressing, but I have the _gasp_-factor _down_."

"That's true, I admit," Abby muttered. "But you played a small part in killing your own brother…?"

"I wasn't aware that was Serpine's plan. If I had known what he wanted to do to him and his family, I would have lied. I protect my family to the end. And, if in the end, I'm dead, they better be running for their lives."

"What about running?" Skulduggery asked as he stepped into the room. "I heard you died, Eshara. It's too bad you aren't _actually_ dead." He sidestepped out of the way as Eshara sent a spray of water at him. He cackled as he shot it right back, and it landed right on Eshara's head. She pursed her lips and lunged forward, attacking her brother and sent him stumbling back a bit. He scowled at Eshara, but turned to Abby and sighed.

"I have a feeling you won't do what I say," he said bluntly.

"Those feelings usually turn out to be pretty true," Abby replied, her smile wide. "What would you even ask me to do? If it's going out because you want to have some super official adult conversation with everyone, then no, I won't go."

Skulduggery muttered something quietly, straightened, and then nodded. "Alright. Just promise me you won't have an eating utensil war with Tanith like last time."

Eshara laughed. "I'll join your side!" she said to Abby, who grinned back. Skulduggery sighed and shook his head. He instantly straightened when they all heard a rough and loud knock at the door.

"Don't bother avoiding me, Pleasant!" Kenspeckle Grouse called out from outside. "I know you're in there!"

Abby laughed and raced toward the door. "Good morning to you too, Grandpa Kenspeckle," she greeted him.

He grunted and smiled lightly at her, and then turned to face Skulduggery, who had followed Abby. "Any thoughts?" he asked.

Skulduggery shrugged. "I have lots of thoughts," he replied quietly.

"Don't get sassy with me," Kenspeckle grumbled, glaring up at the skeleton. "Where's your sister?"

"Care to yell at the whole Pleasant-Firefox-Case-Prop-Fray family and everything they stand for?" Eshara asked, stepping into the room as well. She stood next to her brother, and had her arms crossed. Her eyes were focused on Kenspeckle, and she was giving him her best glare.

Kenspeckle raised an eyebrow and smiled lightly. "Alright, alright." He held his hands up. "Any new developments?"

Skulduggery shook his head. "We know that some person who was impersonating or controlling Valkyrie came here, tried to kill and/or injure us. Lyra hit her on the head with a plate, Eshara rendered her unconscious with the nerve pinch, and then I took over. She seized momentarily when I had placed her on the table, jumped up, and bolted away. We have not heard, nor seen anything about her since. We're not even sure who the villain could be."

"It's someone who can control people," Abby added.

"Perhaps like an adept," Eshara said.

Kenspeckle grimaced. "I've known a few people like that."

"What happened to them?"

"They died. Their brains could only control so many people at one time, and so, they essentially blew their brain out from their head. It was not a pretty sight," the professor explained. "Most of them were pretty old, and none were particularly _evil_, per se…"

"I vote we rule out your mind-controlling friends, Professor," Eshara muttered. "I don't have any enemies."

"And Lyra ruled out everyone else we know that would want to do this," Skulduggery said. "And yes, we've never met anyone who can do this."

"Do what?" came a new voice from the doorway. Everyone turned to see Fletcher Renn, standing at the door. "Oh, almost forgot. I'm _here_, alright?"

"Not good enough, Uncle Fletcher."

He groaned and frowned, but stepped up and stood beside Abby. "What are we discussing today?" he asked excitedly.

"You haven't heard yet, have you?"

"No," Fletcher said, "what did happen? Something with Valkyrie?"

Skulduggery nodded. He gestured for everyone to follow him up to the study. He called Tanith and Ghastly on the way up, since Eshara remarked that this was like some murder case, where all the good guys assembled together. Fletcher had disappeared to pick them up, but then returned a few minutes later with Tanith and Ghastly on either of his arms. They all assembled in the study, and Echo-Gordon had appeared when he heard everyone enter the study.

Eshara, Skulduggery, and Abby filled everyone in on the recent events about Valkyrie, leaving out no details. They explained the odd behaviors of the fake Valkyrie, and how she had suddenly turned murderous and tried to kill them.

Ghastly was the first to break silence. "At least we know she was alive, and that she's of use to the _villains_."

Tanith nodded in agreement. "But yet, we don't know if that was a whole different person _posing _as her. As Kenspeckle pointed out, it could be mind-control."

"And I knew some guys who could shape-shift," Eshara added. "They weren't very nice. In fact-"

"Focus," Skulduggery interrupted.

"Right."

"Has anyone thought to call China?" Gordon asked timidly.

Eshara scowled, and said, "No, since we didn't figure she'd have any books on what we're dealing with."

"You'd be surprised as to what she has in that library," Ghastly said. "We found a book about the worms that thrive on magic from the small country Togo, in Africa."

"That's really gross, Uncle Ghastly."

He smiled. "Just merely saying that she's bound to have something about our little fake Valkyrie problem. It's China for goodness sakes."

"Not a bad idea, I suppose," Skulduggery mused. He looked at his daughter. "Want to?"

She shrugged. "I'm always up for going there," she replied.

"Funny," Eshara grumbled, "I've never met someone who _enjoyed_ China's library, let alone _China_ herself."

"Don't hate on her, Eshara," Skulduggery said calmly. "She's not _as_ bad as before."

"Oh, that's a comfort."

Skulduggery and Abby arrived at China's library shortly. They climbed out of the beautiful Bentley and headed up the old stairs leading to the library. Abby knocked on the door, and it immediately opened. The thin man who greeted everyone looked terrible, and his suit was ruffled, as was his hair.

"Miss Sorrows's library is a little untidy at the moment. Come back later," he said quickly, and tried closing the door, but Skulduggery thrust his hand against the dark wood and held it open.

"She'll see us," he said.

"No, she won't!" came China's voice from behind the door. "I am in a state of disarray, and do not need your _assistance_, Skulduggery. I understand what has recently happened with you and Valkyrie Cain, but I'm afraid nothing can be done now." She stopped talking long enough to swear loudly, and then something crashed onto the floor. The thin man gave each of them a pointed look, and then he left the door. China appeared a moment later. Her hair was tangled, and her makeup a big smudged. Her blue eyes were darting around, with the pupils dilated. She had a dark purple button down shirt on, with a pale yellow skirt. Both were ruffled like the thin man's suit.

"You see, Skulduggery and Lyra," she said, trying to remain calm, "I'm afraid that Valkyrie Cain has just attacked my library."

* * *

HA.

IN YOUR FACES.

CLIFFHANGER.

I'm pretty happy with this chapter, as I got what I wanted done, and in a timely fashion as well.

So thank you for reading and I apologize for any mistakes! :D


	7. Furiously Fighting

And HERE is where the plot doth thicken…I guess…

:D

* * *

"_I'm afraid that Valkyrie Cain has just attacked my library." _

China tried closing the door again, but both Abby and Skulduggery propped it open. Both glared at her.

"Once things have been cleaned," China said, the patience in her wearing thin, "I will let you know. For now, get out." Having said that, she pushed the door completely closed.

Abby scowled. "Gee thanks, China," she grumbled.

Skulduggery shrugged. "Nothing to do, but wait, I suppose," he answered. He stared at the door, watching it, like it would grow a face and start talking. There was a sudden shriek from inside the library. Abby reached for the door, but someone yanked it open and out of her grasp. A figure dressed in all black dashed by, momentarily stopping to adjust the book she held under her arm.

Abby looked around for Skulduggery, but didn't see him. It was then she decided to make a famous Valkyrie Cain decision, and head straight into a battle with no plan or thoughts on it whatsoever.

Lyra Navy dashed down the stairs, racing straight after the person. She stopped at one landing on the multiple sets of stairs and looked around. She heard a hissing sound and looked above her. She screamed as the fake Valkyrie Cain released her hands from the ceiling and land on the floor gracefully, but letting the book she had been carrying thump to the floor. Valkyrie grinned wickedly at Lyra, showing off spontaneous fangs.

"What the heck happened to you?" Lyra shrieked, dodging a punch in the face from her crazy fake mother.

"Just a little spider mixed in!" Fake Valkyrie replied, ducking low to avoid a wall of air. She hissed in pain when Lyra brought her foot down on her hand. Fake Valkyrie flipped Lyra onto her back and aimed her fangs toward the forearm. Fake Valkyrie was suddenly whirled back and she plummeted to the floor from a punch in the face.

Tanith Low scowled. "I never thought I'd punch my best friend in the face," she mumbled angrily. Ghastly appeared at the last step on the stairs and focused the air around Fake Valkyrie. She snarled and spat venom on the floor. It sizzled and burnt through the old wood.

"That might be a problem!" Fletcher Renn shouted, appearing out of thin air.

Fake Valkyrie struggled against the pressurized air, then screeched and scraped at invisible space.

"God's sake," she growled. Her dark eyes caught sight of Lyra's mismatched ones, and a thought was suddenly planted in her mind.

_Take her._

Fake Valkyrie saw a skinny figure appear in the stairway, but ignored them. She aimed her spider venom at the ceiling and spat. Lyra bounded away, and she knocked into Tanith, who then knocked into Ghastly. His concentration was broken and he stumbled away. The air confining Valkyrie was instantly depressurized, and she hopped up and grabbed Lyra's arm. She yanked hard, only to shriek in pain as a gunshot rang out in the room. It clipped her left upper arm and she screamed in horror. Her fangs gnashed together as she sent a hateful glare towards Skulduggery Pleasant, who was standing on the stairs, still holding his gun.

"Shouldn't have done that, Pleasant," Fake Valkyrie smirked, then grabbed Lyra with her good arm. Fake Valkyrie paused a moment, confused about what she had just called the skeleton. She grabbed the knife she took from her previous "visit" to Gordon's house, and aimed it at Lyra's neck. She bent her head down low and clicked her fangs together, getting closer to the flesh of Lyra's neck. Lyra struggled against her, and ended up cutting her neck from the knife a bit.

"Hold still, Lyra," Ghastly muttered soothingly. He shook his head at Tanith, who had her sword drawn and ready to strike. Everyone turned to look at Skulduggery. His eyes remained on Fake Valkyrie and Lyra.

"You wouldn't," he stated simply.

"I would," Fake Valkyrie stated simply back. Both stared at each other for a few minutes, before Fake Valkyrie smiled evilly, and enclosed her fangs around Lyra's neck. A second gunshot rang out in the room, and this time, it lodged into Valkyrie's leg. Her bite increased as Tanith, Ghastly, Fletcher, and Skulduggery bum rushed her. Fletcher pulled at Fake Valkyrie's hands, but she wouldn't give. She released her fangs from Lyra's neck and spared a glance at her face. Lyra was turning a sickly pale color, and she was barely awake. Tanith was yanking at Lyra too.

"Stop, Tanith," Skulduggery said, keeping his voice level. He knew that he couldn't act affected, since he figured it _would_ be used against him.

"Not worried?" Fake Valkyrie asked sweetly. "Want to hold her? I'm sure the Professor can do something useful for her."

Skulduggery didn't move. "Not worried at all."

Fake Valkyrie scoffed and shifted Lyra in her arms. She noticed the book that she had stolen from the library.

_Make a deal_, a voice in her head said.

"Give me the book," Fake Valkyrie said, "and I keep her alive. Don't give me the book, and I toss this girl in the sea."

"How can we trust you?" Ghastly demanded.

"Because I said so," Fake Valkyrie replied, stepping back to the stairs leading down. She could run fast, and get to the piers before they did. This girl wouldn't stand a chance.

_Keep her_, the voice said.

Fake Valkyrie growled once and hoisted the girl over on her back. The girl moaned quietly, and tightened her grip on Fake Valkyrie's neck. "The book." Fake Valkyrie held her hand out, and she watched as Skulduggery bent to pick it up.

"What's so important about this?" he asked as he strode over to her.

"I can hear the waves crashing on the sand," Fake Valkyrie mused. "I think I might go swimming in a bit." Skulduggery straightened and held the book to her. She took it and backed away to the door. "Thank you, and I give my word that this girl will be kept alive for as long as we need her."

"How long is that?" Tanith shouted.

Fake Valkyrie shrugged. "Whenever I'm told to kill her. Or when someone else is."

Skulduggery nodded. "Well we'd better hurry up and save you and the girl before you're both killed."

"I won't be killed," Fake Valkyrie snarled, "but no guarantees about her." She cocked her head to the teen on her back. She gave a wave and bounded down the stairs.

Ghastly frowned. "That went terribly."

Tanith nodded sadly. "I don't think it could have gone worse."

"They could have both died," Fletcher muttered. "What do we do know?" All eyes turned on Skulduggery.

"Where's Eshara?" he asked plainly.

"She said she had to find someone and see if they could help us. She wouldn't tell us who, but we saw her turn left by the pier. Know anyone who lives by the pier?"

Skulduggery nodded. "I do."

Fletcher frowned. "May we _please_ know?"

"Wreath," Skulduggery answered quietly.

* * *

Lyra Navy awoke in a large, fluffy bed. The room was dark, and Lyra noticed the curtains were drawn. She scanned the room for any type of escape, noticing the slightly ajar door, and the curtains, which undoubtedly had windows behind them. She flung the soft covers back, and was about to press her feet to the cold wooden floor, before someone spoke.

"Don't," the person said. Lyra stared at the door, where a teenage girl and teenage boy were standing.

"I told you I didn't kill her," said their victim.

"Mom?" Lyra called out quietly.

Fake Valkyrie poked her head above Elian Ford's and Rin Marlow's. She raised an eyebrow at the girl, but said nothing.

"Not exactly," Rin said, stepping into the room. She sat down at a chair by the bedside, and Elian stood beside her. Fake Valkyrie came and stood by the door, holding a plate.

"Why do you have a plate?"

"To get back at you for hitting me in the face with one," she replied coolly, flipping it around in her hands.

"Hush," Elian mumbled, and their victim immediately went quiet. "Now, child-"

"Don't call me that," Lyra interrupted.

"Okay," Elian said. "Fine. Lyra-"

"How did you know my name?"

"Stop interrupting for God's sake." Lyra glanced down at the floor, and didn't say anything. "Thank you. Now, as I was saying," Elian began again, "we have discussed your future, and have decided on two options for you."

"One option is being killed," Rin said. "The other is joining us."

"And what would I get for joining you?"

"You would be immortal," Rin grinned darkly. "Being with us, you would live forever, and you're free to do what you want. This man is legally allowed to drive, though he's really centuries old. I'm well over one thousand years. We can supply you with whatever you want, and you'd be able to command hundreds of people. It'd be so simple. There are a few rituals to take part of, but after that, you'd be one of us."

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Because something terrible might happen if you don't, dear," Elian growled. "We have morbid ways of killing people, and we have a stash of human beings that would love to get out of here to do our work. Our hands wouldn't be dirtied, their hands would be. We could even get your mother to kill you and your family."

Fake Valkyrie cocked her head and stopped playing with the plate. "It'd be fun," she mused. "I wouldn't mind."

"What did you do to her?"

"We could show you," Elian said quickly. "I think it'd be easier to show than to explain. Please, follow us." He snapped his fingers and Fake Valkyrie rushed up to Lyra and hoisted her up. Lyra flailed around, until Fake Valkyrie scratched her with a long fingernail.

"We put a spell on the floors so you couldn't walk around on them," Rin explained lightly. "By the way, I'm Rin Marlow, and this is Elian Ford." Lyra stopped moving so much, and finally held onto Fake Valkyrie's neck with her arms and allowed herself to be carried down to the basement. She stared at the people all staring at them zombie-like, crying out helplessly, groaning and moaning.

"What is this?"

"The basement," Elian answered smartly. "It's where we keep everyone we kidnap."

"Did you kidnap my mom?"

"Indeed we did," Elian said. "I conked her on the head with a cricket bat and then we took her back here. Were you affected in any way?"

"Maybe just a little," Lyra answered, glaring at the two. "You kidnap my mother and you want me to join you guys? You almost had me _killed_. She _bit_ me and got all this gross spider venom in me, and now I feel like I'm growing six extra legs."

Elian shrugged, and he led them all into a small room, where a lone bed was pushed up in the corner. He snapped his fingers and Fake Valkyrie instantly dropped Lyra on the ground and literally fell on the bed, instantly asleep. She breathed lightly, not making a noise.

"Want to see the attic?" Rin asked with a mysterious gleam in her eyes.

* * *

China Sorrows looked around the room in which her "friends" had occupied while she cleaned the library more. Skulduggery was leaning against the wall, tapping his foot. Tanith and Ghastly sat next to each other on the floral patterned couch. Fletcher Renn was in the chair across from them, staring at the floor. She was sitting at a desk by the back of the room.

Skulduggery whipped his phone out the second it started ringing. He pressed the CALL button and answered with a quiet greeting.

"Hello? …Good, we've run into some trouble here. …Trouble does not have a set weight or mass, Eshara. …I assume you paid him a visit? …Oh, how thoughtful. …I don't know what happened yet; we're all waiting for you. Care to hurry up over here? …Here is China's. …Yes, you poor thing." He pulled the phone away from his face and pressed END button, placing it on the table. Skulduggery sighed. "Eshara should be here soon."

Everyone nodded, and the room fell into silence again.

Eshara Firefox burst into the room about fifteen minutes later. She glared at China a moment, then shut the door, and leaned up against it.

"So?" Eshara asked the people. "What happened?"

"Fake Valkyrie attacked the library," Tanith answered. "And then she turned into a spider, and bit her own daughter. They left after she promised not to kill Lyra."

Eshara frowned. "That's…"

"Bad," China said abruptly, "to say the least."

"The least, yes," Fletcher muttered. "So, tell us what happened and how Valkyrie attacked the library."

China nodded and folded her hands on the old desk and cleared her throat. "At around noon, Fake Valkyrie entered. I had known of her disappearance, but I didn't know that she had come back, or that she had already paid you, Skulduggery, a visit. She greeted me normally, and carried on her way, towards the _darker_ sections of my library, where I keep most of the morbid-types of magic books; all the terrible things you can do with Elemental powers, or Necromancy. She picked one up and returned to the front of the library at around two.

"When she said that she wanted to take the book, I said no, since I don't give out those kinds of books. She got quite angry – and that's not all that surprising – but then she opened her mouth wide and revealed _fangs_ and ate a part of one of my desks. Some man came up to her and tried to get her away, but she slapped him across the cheek and he went running. I had touched a few symbols on my body at this point, and they nullified her necromancy powers. She tried attacked me that way, but she couldn't.

"When she had realized what I had done, she lunged towards me, dropping the book. I, of course, drew back but she just kept coming towards me. During this, fourteen shelves were knocked over, and over 500 books were sent to the floor. My assistant finally grabbed hold of her, and he subdued her by using is mind-controlling powers, and she instantly fainted. He picked her up and put her on the partially eaten desk, and we left her there for a little while.

"By now, Skulduggery and Lyra had come to get information, but I told them that Valkyrie had just attacked my library. I shut them out, and went back to find Fake Valkyrie hanging from the ceiling, and she was snarling in a terrible manor. She jumped down, clawed at my poor cashmere sweater, and then bounded out, making sure to grab the book. Skulduggery, you had passed her, but let her go. The rest you all know."

China finished her speech and sat back in the chair. "This isn't looking too good, is it?" she asked quietly. No one said anything, but they all knew it.

* * *

:D / D:

I'm okay with this, I suppose. I must say thank you for reading and sorry for mistakes! Even if there are a few mistakes, you always know what I meant, right? Usually?

:]


	8. Rash Returnings

Rin Marlow stood, glaring at Valkyrie Cain. The Valkyrie she had modified to fit her needs to kill her family. This Valkyrie was cold and a terrible person, but she still had some of her own heart. This made things better. This made it so that when Valkyrie would kill her own family, Rin could shut the cold and terrible part off, and Valkyrie would be left with her own life and heart. She could break down, suffer terribly, and that appealed to Rin. She never was one for violence and death, but years with a teenage boy and his gory comic books she grew on to it.

Rin Marlow turned her gaze to Lyra Navy. She was sitting on a chair, her chin touching her knees, since she still couldn't walk on the floors without being electrocuted. Elian and her had discussed what would happen to Lyra, and they had come to a perfect solution, in their opinions.

"Ready to go? You'll have a week to choose which _scenario_ you'd rather be in," Rin grinned.

Lyra looked up sadly at her captor. "I'd rather die than join you guys," she muttered weakly.

"Don't go and say that," Rin said, "or we may make that come true. You don't seem to realize, but Elian and I have much experience in the kidnapping and murder field. We can kidnap and kill without being found out for hundreds of years. We'll never leave evidence behind. We can even heal wounds to make it seem like they just dropped dead. Or, we can control them and force suicide on them. Anything we like."

Lyra frowned and suddenly jumped up from the chair, not thinking of the pain it would cause her. She shouted in pain as bursts of electricity shot through her body. Lyra staggered back into the chair and huddled on the hard wood. Rin raised an eyebrow.

"Hurts, doesn't it?"

"Shut up," Lyra responded, twitching a little. She shot a look to Fake Valkyrie, who was staring blankly at the floor. She was still holding the plate.

"Elian?" Rin shouted to the ceiling. They all waited a few minutes in silence, only hearing the footsteps of the summoned person. Elian appeared in the doorway.

"What is it? Are we finally letting her go? Then are we going to do the…" He trailed off and gave Rin a pointed look, who nodded once and pointed to Lyra.

"Please pick her up and send her on her way. Send this Valkyrie with her, since I don't think Lyra could figure out how to get back to her home."

"I could find my way!" Lyra shouted, but Fake Valkyrie was at her in an instant, her hand roughly covering her mouth. Elian nodded and waved Fake Valkyrie away, and he gripped Lyra's torso and hoisted her up above his shoulder. She hung over his skinny body like a sack of potatoes. Fake Valkyrie followed behind them, staring directly ahead. Elian arrived at the front door, opened it, and chucked Lyra onto the ground. He whispered something to Fake Valkyrie, who nodded stoically, then grabbed Lyra and dragged her across the soft, green grass.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Lyra asked. Fake Valkyrie didn't say anything. "Are you not able to talk? Did they hack out your tongue? I wouldn't be surprised."

Fake Valkyrie cast a look to the teenager beside her, acknowledging her, but still not saying a word. She wasn't allowed to. She willed it, but couldn't.

* * *

Fake Valkyrie Cain stopped at Gordon Edgley's grand home a few hours later. Lyra and her had been walking for all that time, not stopping for one instant. Fake Valkyrie pointed dramatically to the old brick house.

"Want to come in," Lyra said bitterly, "and maybe try and kill us again?" Fake Valkyrie, not to Lyra's surprise, didn't say anything. Lyra shrugged. "I suppose you'll be there when those two psychos come back to ask for my answer. Between you and me, Fake Valkyrie, I'm still going to say no. They won't kill you, since you seem important to them. I suppose I'll see soon then." She gave a wave, and then bolted away from the silent Valkyrie Cain. She reached the door and banged on it a few times. The kitchen lights that had been on previously were flicked off suddenly, and glasses clinked quietly. The foyer lights came on abruptly and a shadow appeared in the fogged glass.

Someone gasped and shouted something, and the door was yanked open. Eshara Firefox stuck a hand out and yanked her niece into the house, immediately slamming the door. The next second, the door opened again, and Eshara growled deeply, but shut the door again. A moment later, Lyra was enveloped in a hug from her half-aunt.

"Brother!" Eshara shouted to the walls of the aged house. "It's Lyra!" Loud footsteps thundered above them, with shouts of slight happiness. Lyra could tell it was her Aunt Tanith who was shouting. Lyra counted three sets of footsteps. She knew one must be her dad's, one must be Aunt Tanith's, but she couldn't tell the other person. They were going at a slower pace than the other two. Aunt Tanith bounded around the corner from the stairwell and joined the hug with Eshara. Lyra broke free from the women and made a beeline for her father, who had appeared where Tanith previously was. Lyra hugged Skulduggery tightly, and he hugged her back.

The person who owned the other set of footsteps finally descended the last step and quietly stood behind Skulduggery. Lyra pulled back and looked at the man in disgust.

"What's Wreath doing here?" she asked, pointing a finger at the necromancy. "Come to gloat for some unnecessary reason?"

"I asked for help from him," Eshara muttered.

"But I thought you hat –" Lyra started, but Skulduggery cut in.

"What has passed, shall remain passed until someone feels like opening it up and starting a child-like war over it again," he said smartly and faced Wreath. "I don't want any arguments coming from any of you." Skulduggery looked at Eshara and Lyra and Tanith and Wreath, seeming to glare at them.

Wreath leaned against his cane. "I solemnly swear not to argue with anyone," he said cheekily. "Unless I am provoked."

"And we won't provoke you, Solomon," Eshara said with a smug smile. Lyra rolled her eyes at Eshara and Wreath as they held hard gazes with each other, and she made to go upstairs.

"I'm going to shower," she said quietly.

Skulduggery nodded. "No school tomorrow," he said back. Lyra grinned lightly, and she trudged up the stairs to her room.

* * *

When Lyra returned downstairs, everyone had seemed to appear in the living room. Uncle Ghastly sat with Aunt Tanith beside him on the couch. Eshara and Wreath were on opposite ends of the room, with her in a chair, and him leaning against the far wall. Skulduggery stood by the fireplace with Gordon next to him. Lyra sat down on the piano bench near Eshara.

"Did you see Valkyrie?" Wreath asked from his dark corner.

Lyra nodded. "I saw her, and she threatened to bash my head in with a dinner plate like I did, so it's safe to say whatever they did to her is still affecting her."

"Did the person share any trade secrets?" Tanith questioned.

Lyra paused, debating about whether to tell them all about the offers Elian and Rin gave her, but she decided and shook her head. "They didn't reveal anything. But it's two teenagers doing it. They're older, probably around eighteen or so. One was a girl, Rin Marlow, and the other was a guy, and he was Elian Ford. The girl said that Elian was legally allowed to drive and things like that."

Ghastly nodded. "That helps. We can run their names by China and see if she has anything. She's bound to have just a little information."

Everyone nodded, and Wreath sighed. "I can scout out the areas," he announced. "They can't be far if Lyra was able to return the next day. How long did you talk to get back? Do you know which direction you came from?"

"I was forced to speed walk, so it took a few hours," she replied. "And I have no idea from which direction I came from. But we did get here by coming through the neighbor's yard. We didn't take too many turns I remember." Wreath nodded, planning out his movements in his head. He doubted it'd be hard to locate the place once he'd gotten the right trail. Stake outs were always fun.

Abigail Pleasant returned to school the next week, taking the place of her reflection. She found her friend, Gwen Austin, who talked non-stop about everything that had happened over the week. She also found Michael Peach, who was sometimes the only reason she went to school.

"Hey Abby," he said, coming up to sit next to her in English class in fourth period. "You seemed different last week. Was it something with that…Condition?" Mike knew about the magic half of her life after he accidentally saw Skulduggery as skeleton.

Abby nodded. "Yeah, things are really complicated right now. It's so confusing as to who is normal and someone I can trust. Sorry for sounding super depressed."

He shrugged. "We're teenagers, so what can you expect?" He smiled and sat closer to her. "Do you need any help with your work? I can lend a hand while you're out saving the world from evil people."

Abby laughed and elbowed his shoulder. "Ah shush, Peach," she muttered, but smiled all the while.

"Hey," Gwen greeted them, coming to join them. "Have you guys heard about the new students? They're, like, brother and sister, and they can't stand to be apart. The school had to move around a bunch of kids so these guys could have every class with each other. It's so crazy. Like, seriously, just suck it up and move on. I personally hate my brother. He always steals my make-up and runs around with my clothes."

"Are you sure he's a guy?" Michael asked cheekily. Gwen laughed and kicked his shin. All three looked up at the same time to see the door open and two people walk in. The first in was an Asian looking girl, with long black hair past her elbows. She had plain jeans on, with a blue sweater. A guy walked in after her, wearing khaki shorts and a dark blue polo. His skin was tan, and his hair was light. The two handed the teacher a note and they went to sit in a corner of the room.

Abigail stared as Rin Marlow and Elian Ford sat across from her. They both grinned at her, winking and silently laughing.

* * *

You guys better love me. I had a tough week, so then I barely had anything written on this, so I worked until midnight on Sunday. BUT. I do have spring break now/this week, so it's okay. BUT STILL. I had this done, but no the other chapter for **To Seduce a Skeleton**, and I don't upload one without the other.

Sorry for being day late, but just look at the explanation from above. I'll see what I can for the rest of this week. I should be able to get the next chapter up by next Sunday, but who the heck knows?

Thanks for reading and sorry for any mistakes! :D


	9. Posing Plots

I got Dark Days a few days ago.

It makes me sad.

D:

* * *

"Mr. Bliss," Skulduggery greeted his old friend curtly. Mr. Bliss had been on a case in Western Canada for the better part of six years, and hadn't been able to come back to perform his Elder duties in Ireland.

"How is the situation, if it's possible to call it that," Mr. Bliss asked, getting directly to the point. His sister was beside him, holding a thick book like she usually was.

"Terrible, to say the least," Eshara said, cutting in.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again," Mr. Bliss said as he greeted Eshara. "When did you get here?"

"A few weeks ago. I've been helping my baby brother with everything around here," Eshara said quietly. "And I've never met my half-niece, so it's been fun knowing that she exists."

Lyra Navy looked up from the book that she had immediately picked up upon entering the library. It was about mind-controlling, since they still had no idea as to how Valkyrie was like the way she was. Rin and Elian hadn't given away anything; Rin had asked if Lyra wanted to see the attic at some point, but Elian demanded that she not, since it would give away too much. Lyra figured that whatever was up there would give her at least an idea as to how they had power over Valkyrie Cain. It wasn't a simple task to subdue her, as that had been demonstrated many a time over the years.

"What have you found?" Tanith discreetly asked Lyra.

The teenager shook her head and shut the book. "There's nothing about what they told me. Rin had said that they had the ability to make wounds disappear, so there's the possibility that they could be using mind-control, but what would they be able to use that would make wounds disappear? Do they have the things that Grandpa Kenspeckle has?"

"You didn't notice anything like that?"

"No, since I only saw two rooms. The basement, and the room they kept me in. They were fairly nice people, but slightly creepy."

Tanith nodded, then turned to talk with Ghastly and China. Ghastly had asked what book Fake Valkyrie had stolen, and China said she wasn't sure. They hadn't found out yet, since there were so many books.

Lyra stared at her hands. She hadn't told anyone about the offers made to her by Rin and Elian, nor the fact that they had enrolled in her own school. They had four classes with her, and even the lunch period. Lyra tried avoiding them, but they _always_ found her. They would always sit across from her, not eating, but reading bulky novels about murder and death and gore.

"Hey," Eshara said, snapping Lyra back to reality, "want to head to the back of the library with me? I hear there's some empty shelf space with a stolen book. Care to help me find it?"

Lyra nodded and smiled carelessly, getting up and carrying the mind-control book with her.

* * *

"Is she all programmed and set?" Rin asked Elian urgently. "Oh, also, how's your homework coming along?"

"First of all, Valkyrie Cain is the way you asked she be," Elian said irritably, "and second, my homework is done." Rin nodded and smiled at him, then turned to the basement. She passed all of their past victims, some who had recently passed away due to lack of nourishment and lack of actually having a heart. Rin reached the little room where they kept Valkyrie Cain. She was sitting upright in the bed, staring at the floor. There were a few needles by her. Rin picked one up, administered a few shots that would keep her alive and well for a few weeks, but they could be canceled with just a thought from Rin or Elian. The liquid that had been injected into Valkyrie's blood stream went straight to the brain, which could be shut down after a while.

"Go," Rin said to Valkyrie. "You're to go to this place." She handed her a picture with a large building in it, and Valkyrie nodded, automatically knowing where to go. She climbed from the bed and up the stairs and out the front door, and she began walking in a straight line to the place she was sent.

* * *

Kenspeckle Grouse looked up from his work and watched Clarabelle flitter around the room lazily, while sweeping the floors. She told him that she was taking dancing classes, along with classes on the Italian language for some strange reason. Kenspeckle loved the girl, but she needed to actually focus every once in a while.

The cranky professor stared at the door unhappily as he heard a set of stumbling footsteps. No doubt it was Pleasant, dragging Lyra in with a broken neck, asking for him to save her. He seriously considered moving away for a day to see how badly they all did without him.

The footsteps grew louder and he sighed loudly. "Clarabelle, can you go see who's making such a ruckus?"

Clarabelle simply nodded; she disappeared out of the door, and reappeared, dragging Valkyrie Cain with her. "It's Valkyrie!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Kenspeckle immediately rushed to her, supporting her, and guiding her to the bed. He set her down on it, and she instantly flopped down on it, like she was unconscious, but her eyes were open and her breathing was deep.

"Valkyrie," Kenspeckle said, poking her, "wake up, please." He pointed to the drawer at the bedside and Clarabelle grabbed the old stethoscope and handed it to him. Kenspeckle didn't like to use this thing, but it did something good every once in a while. He placed the cold metal object on Valkyrie's arm, just as a test, to see if she would flinch. She didn't move a muscle, but her skin formed hundreds of Goosebumps. He held it up to her chest to hear her heart.

He backed away slowly, pulling the object away from his face. "Something is terribly wrong," he mumbled and directed Clarabelle to run as many tests as they could on her. Kenspeckle Grouse, meanwhile, dashed to the phone that Fletcher had made him get.

He hit the speed dial button and pressed the 3 button. He pressed TALK and waited as the phone rang.

"Yes, professor?" answered Skulduggery Pleasant on the other end.

"You've got to get down here right now," Kenspeckle replied urgently.

"Why? What's wrong? What happened?"

"Valkyrie's here, but she has no heart beat." The other side was quiet a moment, but Kenspeckle heard a gasp. "But, Pleasant, she's still breathing and her eyes are open. She's completely unresponsive to stimuli. She just has _no_ heart beat."

Skulduggery thought it over a minute. "Alright, I'll be there soon. Keep her alive for me." The line went dead before Kenspeckle could get in another word.

Eshara and Tanith stared at Skulduggery as he put his cell phone away. "I need to get to Kenspeckle's," he said simply.

Tanith frowned. "Why? Is it Valkyrie? Is she okay?"

He nodded. "She turned up there with no heart beat."

"Is she dead?" Eshara asked softly.

Skulduggery shook his head this time. "No, something way more complicated. Can someone get Lyra and bring her to Kenspeckle's for me?"

"I got it," Tanith said, jumping up and grabbing her motorcycle helmet and heading out the door. Skulduggery gestured to Eshara, and they both climbed into the Bentley and headed to the Hibernian Cinema. Tanith revved her motorcycle up and sped off to Lyra's school.

* * *

Lyra Navy, or rather, Abigail Pleasant, passed through the crowds of students at her school easily, with Michael Peach trailing behind her. They pushed through the doors and when finally free, Michael Peach let out a shout of triumph.

"Has it gotten worse since yesterday?" he asked sadly.

Lyra laughed. "It progressively gets more and more like a battlefield as the years go on," she replied.

"I'll be a general!" he said playfully. "You be a soldier, so I tell you where to fight."

"Excuse me?" She glared at him. "No way am I taking orders from you," she said. "I'll be the general of the army, which trumps the regular, boring general. And plus, I'd be such an awesome soldier that you'd _beg_ me to take your spot so I can save your army from getting their butt kicked."

Peach scoffed and was about to say something, but he was interrupted by none other than Rin Marlow, who was known as Lorraine March. Elian Ford was a few feet away from her, and he was Dylan March. They were sitting on a bench.

"I hope we'll see you again tomorrow," Rin had said. "We need your decision about that paper soon. We'll come looking for it, Abigail Pleasant."

Lyra fumed silently, glaring at the two, and then stalking off. She stopped when she got to the pavement; Aunt Tanith was there, leaning against her motorcycle. She was talking on her cell phone, but still waving Lyra over.

"Hey, Peach," Lyra said, "I have to go. Some complications about family matters." He nodded and turned to go find his bus. Lyra jogged over to Aunt Tanith, who silently handed her a helmet.

"Where are we going? What's happened?" Lyra asked.

"We're going to Kenspeckle's, and it's better explained by someone who's been kept up to date," Tanith replied, starting the engine and speeding away.

* * *

They reached the Hibernian Cinema building. Lyra swung her leg over the side and demanded answers from Tanith, but she still didn't know exactly how things were happening. The girls pushed open the lab doors, and Lyra gasped.

Valkyrie was sitting up in a bed, with Skulduggery sitting in a chair beside her. He had his elbows propped on the bed, and his suit jacket was missing. Eshara was perched on the armrest, her eyes unfocused.

"What's going on?" Lyra asked quietly as she stepped over to the bed. Valkyrie didn't take a notice to her daughter, and just stared ahead.

"We don't know," Skulduggery whispered, patting her hand. "She's completely blank and won't say a word, has no heart beat, but she's breathing normally and Kenspeckle says her brain function seems normal. Really, she should be dead."

"But…something is keeping her alive."

"But we don't know what is."

Lyra sighed irritably and poked her mother's outstretched leg. She was sitting in bed, still wearing the clothes she had been kidnapped in. Kenspeckle came over quickly, holding a needle. He brushed her hair back from her shoulder and stuck her with the needle. She didn't flinch, or move, or cry out. Her eyes momentarily flickered to the needle in Kenspeckle's hand, but they reverted to staring back ahead.

The professor shook his head. "I've fixed people who were missing chunks out of their back, but I've never had to do this." He put the needle away and cleaned the little puncture wound, but he stopped suddenly. "Clarabelle, I need a vial."

His assistant nodded and sped off to find a tube. She returned a moment later and handed it to the professor. He pushed on Valkyrie's arm to get some blood, and he managed to get a few ounces in the glass tube. He swished it around, and then nodded.

"What was that for?" Tanith asked.

He shrugged. "Tests. I thought I saw something in it, but we'll see when I can examine it."

* * *

Lyra was sent home begrudgingly by Skulduggery; Eshara was sent to take her home. They arrived at Gordon's after a while. Eshara cut the Bentley's engine and opened the front door. Lyra passed by her, climbed the stairs, dropped her backpack on the floor of her room and took a deep breath.

"Like my present?" asked a voice. Lyra spun around and suppressed a gasp as she saw Rin Marlow sitting on her bed. "I thought it would be a nice thing to do; give your mother back to you."

"What did you do to her?" Lyra whispered, not wanting to give reason for Eshara to come up and see what was happening.

"Just played around with her clock," Rin replied cheekily, tossing aside the book she had been assigned to read in school.

"What _clock_?"

"Her tick-tock clock."

"That makes no sense."

Rin's eyes sparkled. "It would if you joined Elian and I. We'd take care of you, and you'd be free to roam whatever country we're living in. We always have the nicest clothes and houses and the finest things you could want. Want a car? We'll get it for you. There are just a few little things you'd need to do for us when you join, but that's minor compared to a life of money and doing whatever you want. So come on, Abigail Pleasant. What have you got to lose? Your mother's insane, your dad's a bit cold, all of your fake aunt's and uncle's don't care, and your actual aunt is just stupid.

"So, really," she continued, "it'll only take one word to make your life splendid, or a living Hell. Yes or no?"

Lyra paused, glaring at the girl on her bed. Could she say yes to trick them? They'd probably figure it out though, she realized. She could say yes…and actually go _join_ them. That'd be leaving everything behind _and _living with the people who kidnapped her own mother. And her for that matter.

She could also say no…And that would be automatic GAME OVER. Saying no would prompt Rin to attack her, and that might turn out terrible. I could fight her off, Lyra thought. It wouldn't be terrible.

"Okay, first of all," Lyra began, "my mother is insane, but in the good way. She's just under whatever drugs you threw onto her, or you're controlling her somehow. My father is physically cold, and though he may not be the warmest and nicest person I know, he's still pretty awesome. My 'fake' aunts and uncles DO care and if they were here right now, you'd have your head lobbed off by Aunt Tanith and Uncle Ghastly would go ahead and punch you for good measure. My actual aunt, I admit, is weird. I don't know her that well, but it seems if I were to call for help, she'd come rushing over."

Rin glared. "I know she's in this house," she said. "You wouldn't dare call for her. That'd just be weakness, and I'd be able to kill you before she'd get here."

"Want to bet?" Lyra asked, a smirk beginning to form. She opened her mouth and screamed as loud as she could. Rin screamed after her. And she lunged from the bed, yanked out a dagger Elian had given her, aiming straight for Lyra.

* * *

Meh. I realized I'm not good with segues. But I finished this nice and early! But anyway, thanks for reading and sorry for any typos and/or mistakes! :D


	10. Awkward Attacks

I love all of your reviews. They make me so happy :)

And just warning, this and the next chapter will be kind of filler-y, since I need these to get the very end going. (This ends at 15 chapters, just btw.)

Oh, and for the sake of my sanity and my life, pretty much everything that happened in Dark Days will be wiped from all of my fanfictions. I refuse to acknowledge it, and whatever happened will not take part in these. Nor will it in future ones (most likely).

AND. As of April 8, I have officially been on this website for a year! :D

* * *

Eshara threw the jar of peanut butter across the room when she heard a scream, followed by another scream. Both were high-pitched and sounded the same, but she could tell it was too different people. The knife she was holding fell from her hand as she bolted from the kitchen, stumbling over the carpet from the speed. She took three steps at a time, skidding to a halt on the last step as Lyra's door was blasted open. Two girls tumbled out in a lock, their hands grabbing at hair and face.

"I told you she'd come!" Lyra shouted at the other girl, then gave a shout of pain when she felt the girl's foot slam into her shin.

"Let's see if she'll do something about it!" the other screamed back. Eshara frowned but still ran up to the fighting girls. She yanked away the other girl's hands and hoisted her up in the air. "PUT ME DOWN," she shrieked and flailed around, kicking and trying to get our of Eshara's grasp.

"Who's this?" Eshara asked her niece, who had gotten up and was rubbing her black eye.

"This is Rin Marlow, who, by the way, is insane and evil and kidnapped Mom," Lyra replied.

"And how did she know you lived here?" Eshara now had a flame in her hand, and she held it close to Rin's face as a threat.

Lyra sighed. She picked up the knife Rin had dropped carelessly. "Her and Elian had made me a proposal to join them, and if I did so, I could live forever and do everything they could. They gave me some time to think it over, but I knew from the start that I'd just say no. So, the first day back at school, my friend tells me about these two new people, brother and sister. And lo and behold, Rin and Elian have taken the names Lorraine and Dylan March, and have classes and lunch with me. They know my name, and they must have found out where I lived from someone else."

"You haven't told anyone else, have you?"

Lyra shook her head sadly. "I figured I'd handle it myself," she said. "So far, I'm kind of sucking at that."

"Yeah, good luck with that," Rin said quietly. She threw her head back and it connected with Eshara's forehead. She instantly dropped the girl in an awkward heap on the floor. Rin screamed something in another language, and at least ten men the size of wrestlers came charging out of Lyra's room. Three men with faces with no emotions gripped Lyra and hoisted her up in the air, holding her steady so she couldn't kick them. Elian Ford strode through the room casually with his hands in his pockets.

"What happened here?" he asked as he took in the scene. Lyra was struggling against the men; Rin was holding the knife up to Eshara; Eshara had been forced onto her knees. "This seems to be a pickle! Sucks for you two, though. I feel bad. Who are we going to take back with us?"

Rin shrugged. "I'm thinking her," she said and jerked her thumb towards Eshara. "She's like our favorite." Elian nodded and waved a hand in the air. The remaining blank faced people gripped Eshara's arms tight, and the dragged her towards Lyra. Rin and Elian were talking quietly, but animatedly and at length about something over in the corner. Rin pointed her finger angrily at Elian, but he jerked it away from him. Since they were busy, no one but Eshara and Lyra heard the soft _whoosh _sound a necromancer makes when he or she does that teleporting magic.

Wreath remained quiet as he stalked around the corridor, waiting for the precise moment to attack. Eshara seemed to be glaring a hole straight through his face, but he merely nodded once and side-stepped into the darker parts of the hall. The sun was setting now. It was still light.

He tapped his cane lightly on the ground, sending terrifying looking silhouettes across the floor. They slid up the emotional bricks of men and yanked at their hands, releasing both Eshara and Lyra. Rin and Elian whipped around, glaring at the three of them. Eshara sent a wave of air crashing into the pair, knocking them from their feet. Elian grabbed the picture of Gordon at a book signing that was hanging on the wall and threw it at Lyra. She dodged it, caught it in her hand, and sent it rocketing right back to them. It collided with Rin's face. They all heard glass shattering and the picture fell from Rin's face. She had small slices all over her cheeks and nose. A piece of glass was lodged in her eyeball. But she didn't react. She just glared harder.

"Get her," she merely muttered, turning and ripping the glass shard from her eye. The blank-faced men all gave a bum-rush and tackled Eshara. Because of their weight, she was squashed beneath them. Rin and Elian directed them to pick up Eshara, and Wreath tried to stop them, but Elian darted out and led him away from the hallway with a few of his punches. Manly shouts were heard through the house from their fighting. Rin remained in the hall, staring at Lyra. She gave a small nod, and another man burst through the doorway of Lyra's room. She pointed to the teenager, and the male instantly set out after her. Lyra, on instinct, took off running. She bounded down the stairs, cutting straight through the fight between Wreath and Elian. The man smashed Wreath and Elian out of the way. He kept giving chase after Lyra.

Lyra Navy was faced with two options. #1: Keep running. #2: Stop and fight and then possibly die trying.

She decided on option #1 and gathered speed and tucked her head into her chest and crashed through the back windows. She landed on the soft grass, rolled a few times, then stood up and glanced around. She noticed the guy chasing her lumber through the broken window and raise his fists.

"It would suck if you killed me," she announced. The man didn't respond. "You're just going to stand there until I do something, right?" Her chaser cocked his head to the right, and then ran towards her. "Nevermind!" she murmured, turning and running to the end of the fenced area of the yard. She propelled herself into the air and grabbed onto a tree branch. She grabbed one branch and yanked as hard as she could. The hunk of wood came off easily and it fit nicely in her hands.

She ripped part of her shirt and wrapped it around the end of the stick. She created a fireball and lit the shirt and looked down at the man at the base of the tree. He was violently shaking it.

She jumped down from the tree and landed behind the man. She gave a strong kick to the back of his knee, but he either didn't feel it, or he couldn't do anything about it. He turned around slowly and raised his hands in front of him, like a Frankenstein monster. Lyra frowned and poked the man's leg with her torch, and he instantly caught fire. He gave a shout of surprise and he collapsed onto the hard ground. Lyra flexed her hand and doused the flame so it wouldn't set the grass on fire, and she quick ran back into the house. Wreath was standing by the stairs with a few cuts and scrapes on his face and neck.

"We have bad news," he said simply. "Eshara was taken."

Lyra stared at him. "And you didn't do anything about it?" she eventually asked.

He shrugged. "I was too far away, and I was I the middle of fighting that child."

Lyra groaned in frustration and stalked away when she heard her cell phone ringing from her room. She grabbed the phone and noticed it was her dad calling.

"Yeah?"

"Bad news," Skulduggery said shortly.

"We've got some pretty bad news on our part as well."

"You go first."

"Eshara was taken because the bad guys came and attacked us here," Lyra mumbled. "Wreath got her just in time, but he wasn't able to stop them. I was being chased by a guy the size of a sumo wrestler."

The other side was quiet, but then Skulduggery sighed and replied with, "Well, I suppose following the attack on you, a teenage boy burst in here, pointing guns and knives at us all. He snapped his fingers and said something in Portuguese. Valkyrie finally seemed to respond to that, and the kid took her as well."

"Wow…" Lyra groaned quietly.

"Why don't you come back over to Kenspeckle's? It was probably a pretty bad idea to send you home in the first place."

"You think?"

Skulduggery laughed gently. "Shush, child. Think you can get Wreath to bring you here?"

She nodded. "I'll see." She shut off the phone and put it in her pocket, then headed downstairs. Solomon Wreath was still in the same place she had left him. His was twirling his cane in the air. "Take me back to Kenspeckle's, please," she said.

"What happened over there?" he asked as he held out his arm for her.

"They took Mom too," she replied sadly. Wreath grunted once and didn't say anything else. He stared ahead and gave a tap of his cane. Lyra held her breath as the shadows consumed them.

* * *

Eh. Eeeeeeeh.

Thanks for reading and sorry for mistakes (I ran out of time to proofread)! :D


	11. Stupid Schemes

Blaaargh. I really didn't feel like writing this at all, so if it sucks, that's why.

(Course, you guys are all, "Noooo! It didn't suuuuuck!" And then I'm all, "Aww! You guys are sweeeeet!" But then in my head, I'm all, "Noooo, that actually really sucked." Yep.)

Probably a filler chapter. Nothing happens here.

* * *

Lyra Navy drifted in between asleep and awake as the night rolled up. The clock on her phone seemed to go at a snail pace. This night wouldn't end. At all. She was stretched across the plastic chairs at the Hibernian Cinema.

Skulduggery grunted beside her. "Are you awake again?" he said.

Lyra nodded from beneath Skulduggery's trench coat. "I just keep waking up randomly; I don't know why." She sat up and rubbed her eyes and moved to sit next to her father. He pulled her closer and wrapped the coat around her tighter.

"What happened to your shirt?" he said, pointing to the ripped clothing sitting on a chair near them.

"I ripped it so I could set it on fire. I lit the giant guy I was fighting on fire…I realize now I could have just thrown a fireball at him."

"This is true," he mused. "Well, now we know that you have good surviving techniques."

"Aw, shush."

"I apologize."

"That was mean," she declared

"I know."

They remained silent for a while, both just staring at the floor. Lyra's mind was reeling, thinking about everything that had recently happened.

She looked up at the skeleton. "So you know how that Portuguese guy who barged in here?"

"What about him?"

"Him and the girl are going to my school, and they know my name," she said.

Skulduggery didn't say anything for a bit. "Why didn't you tell me this?"

"I wanted to handle it myself. I said that to Eshara, and now she's gone along with Mom, so that was a failure on my part."

He shrugged. "That tends to happen to people who are _associated_, if you will, to Valkyrie Cain. I get where the idea came from."

"And they also wanted me to come and join them and be immortal with them. If I did, I'd figure they'd let go of Mom."

"Did you ever consider saying yes?"

"At a few points, but then I realized that would be really stupid, so I didn't do that. The girl found out where we lived and asked for my answer, so I told her 'no,' and she freaked out. She and the guy attacked us and then took Eshara."

"And right after that they stopped here to steal Valkyrie back," Skulduggery reminded her. "I wonder what they're planning. Any thoughts?"

"They'll screw around with Eshara so she's just like Mom and bent on killing us?" Lyra suggested.

"Theory A. Go on."

"They'll kill them," Lyra stated simply.

Skulduggery nodded slowly. "Theory B."

"But why would they have waited this long to kill them? Just to lead us on? To let us think that we had a chance at saving them or something?"

"Point taken. Theory B isn't as probable."

"But maybe they _were_ just leading us on."

"Then Theory B is just as probable as Theory A," Skulduggery said happily. He cocked his head at Lyra, who was glaring. "What? What did I do?"

"Make things complicated," she muttered.

"People always throw insults at me, but I never hear anything. It's always your mother who'll insult me, yet all I hear is her praising my skills."

"Alright, I'll ask her about that when we find them."

"Good plan," he said and chuckled. They looked up together at the lab doors opening, revealing China, with Tanith, Ghastly, Fletcher, and Kenspeckle trailing behind her. China stopped right in front of the chairs and placed her hands on her hips.

"I have been searching for you all for the past hour," she began.

"You could have called us," Skulduggery replied.

"My cell phone broke when the _eviler_ Valkyrie attacked me," she muttered impatiently.

"I will ignore the fact that you said that she was eviler for now," he said, "and instead ask why you would need to search for us in the first place."

"Well," China replied with an air of smugness around her, "a few of my students were out doing routine checkups and running errands for me, when Fake Valkyrie crashed into one of them. Using a symbol carved into their hand, they managed to track Valkyrie and the girl and boy along with Eshara back to where they are hiding out. So we have their exact location."

"What direction were they going in?" Ghastly asked.

"They were heading west," she replied.

Skulduggery nodded. "Wreath told me he thought they'd be somewhere in the west. The last I heard from him was that he was doing a stake out at any mysterious place he could find."

"Well, I think we should get a move on and find him and then get over to their hide-out or whatever you wanna call it," Fletcher announced.

"Do they know that they're being tracked?" Kenspeckle said.

China shook her head. "It's impossible to tell. Only people who are told know about it."

Lyra sighed angrily and flung off the coat from herself. She adjusted her clothes and stood up. "Let's go then. I'm tired of waiting around."

* * *

Three hours later (and much arguing over where to go next), everyone arrived at the line of a crowded forest. Fletcher, Tanith, and Ghastly staggered out of Ghastly's van and entered the forest first, looking around for clues as to where their kidnappers could have gone. Wreath, Lyra, and Skulduggery entered second, climbing trees and searching from a higher point.

"Why is there always a forest?" Lyra groaned after getting a leaf caught in her hair. She watched Wreath effortlessly glide across the space between trees. He held a hand to the bark of the tree and frowned. He pointed northwest and nodded once. His shadows consumed him quickly. He disappeared. She frowned down at the ground where Fletcher was. He was poking at a giant branch that was propped up against a tree.

"I think this might have been moved my someone!" he shouted around. His announcement was met with everyone telling him to stop yelling.

"Do you want someone to find out we're here?" Tanith asked angrily.

Fletcher shrugged. "Well, if anyone is here, it'll be those evil guys. This looks like it was moved by someone's certain _necromancy_ powers…"

"Maybe they had to walk through here, and they made Mom lift it up for them."

"Couldn't they have stepped over it?"

"Yeah, but maybe…" Lyra paused and looked at the ground. "Maybe they're hands were full or something. Like, Rin and Elian were lugging something big around, and they didn't have the strength of ability to step over the branch."

Skulduggery sighed and cocked his head. "I'd bet you anything Eshara wouldn't shut up, so they had to knock her out. Perhaps they were carrying her around?"

Tanith suddenly gave a yelp as something collided with her. Tanith and another figure were sent to the forest floor. Tanith shoved whoever had landed on her off and stood up with her sword ready. Everyone groaned angrily as Valkyrie Cain staggered up, dusted herself off, and then take off in a sprint.

"She had a gun," Wreath suddenly said from the treetops. "It was either let you all get shot or pitch her off the tree."

"I don't know which one I would have preferred," Lyra heard Skulduggery mutter, but she didn't say anything in response. She figured he had to be getting sick of her just appearing and causing a ruckus.

"HEY!" Valkyrie screamed from a few yards away. "If you want to get to Rin Marlow and Elian Ford, you have to follow me. And if you want Valkyrie Cain and Eshara Firefox to yourselves again, you'll _really_ have to follow me. Now come on. I'm hungry and tired."

She glared at them a moment, then turned and ran again. Tanith and Ghastly tore after her, jumping in sync over the branches and mounds of dirt on the ground. Fletcher took off at a slow jog after them. Lyra and Skulduggery jumped from tree to tree, while Wreath followed closely behind them, pausing everyone once and while to check their location in relation to the "hide-out."

Unbeknownst to everyone who was chasing after Valkyrie, Rin and Elian were perched in tress and were watching the little chase scene from just a few yards away.

* * *

Uh. Yeah.

Thanks for reading and sorry for mistakes! :D


	12. Excited Enemies

Fake Valkyrie burst through the line of trees that created a barrier of sorts around the large house that stood there.

Tanith, Ghastly, Fletcher, Skulduggery, Wreath, and Lyra all shot out after her, but they all stopped when she disappeared.

"Where the heck did she go?" Ghastly muttered, eying the house carefully.

Lyra frowned. "I don't know. But I do know that this isn't the place where I was first brought at."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that when Fake Valkyrie stole me away, I was at a house that looked exactly like this, but it was in a totally different location; it was on a street and had a sidewalk."

"How quaint," Wreath sighed under his breath. They all looked up to watch Tanith and Ghastly stalk to the front door. Tanith's sword was drawn and Ghastly had a flame in his hand. They kicked at the door mercilessly, but it wouldn't budge. There was a light _whoosh_ sound, and the door burst open, knocking back both Tanith and Ghastly. Fake Valkyrie was standing there in the doorway, glaring.

"Don't come in this house if you want to live," she said dramatically. Her face twitched, but only Skulduggery saw the small wink she gave him. The door instantly slammed closed and footsteps were heard thundering around the house.

"Well what do we do know?" Fletcher asked as he helped Tanith up. "Do we go home, or do we sit here and try and break in?"

"I don't think breaking in would be a good idea," said Skulduggery, "but sitting here and doing nothing would be best."

"Oh, that's not counter productive at all," Tanith answered sarcastically.

He shrugged and said, "There's a gut feeling in me saying that we should stay here."

"You technically have no guts," Lyra said.

"Let's ignore that fact and just think figuratively for now."

* * *

Lyra frowned as she scratched her neck. The bite was still a bit sensitive. When she'd be back at school, she had to either wear high collars or cover it up with make-up. It caused her pain at random points in the day, and she had to resist from scratching at it.

"Are you alright?" Skulduggery asked from beside her.

She shrugged. "I've been better admittedly," she said. "That bite that Fake Valkyrie gave me is acting up a bit."

"I wondered how that affected you. Has it hurt before?" he questioned as peered closer at the wound. It had a pinkish hue to it, while the skin around it was puffy and sensitive.

Lyra nodded. "Yeah," she said, "I went to the nurse to get some pain medication. It still won't stop being weird and obnoxious."

"Kenspeckle would be happy to fix it up and then yell at me about it," Skulduggery replied.

"I'd laugh at you if he did that."

"Wow, thanks."

"Sorry to intrude," Fletcher said, coming up to them, "but someone is coming out of the chimney, and they seem angry."

Skulduggery bounced up and stepped around the house to get a better look at the chimney. There was a man standing at the top. His clothes were tattered and torn and covered in blood. He waved at them.

"Hey there!" he shouted down at them. "They sent me out here to tell you that they know you're here, and that they'll kill you."

"Where's Valkyrie Cain? Or Eshara Firefox?" Tanith shouted back.

The man didn't say anything for a moment, but they breathed deeply and smiled softly and said, "Hey, Abigail."

"Valkyrie?" Skulduggery attempted.

Valkyrie the Man waved. "Essentially, yes. They've just been screwing with-"

She was cut off when a hand reached up from the chimney and pulled her inside it. A huge puff of smoke was released the next second, and there was a loud crashing sound. No one moved.

The front door suddenly opened and Rin Marlow and Elian Ford stepped out gracefully. They stood on opposite sides of the entryway and beckoned everyone in.

"We'll kill your friends if you don't get in here," Rin said loudly. Everyone picked up the pace and entered the house with stealth. Elian shut the door and led everyone into the kitchen. He wrenched open the basement door and smiled graciously.

"Please, have fun down there," he said. Rin grinned from behind him as she reached and pushed Ghastly, who knocked into Fletcher, then Tanith, then Wreath, then Lyra, and finally Skulduggery. They were all pushed and prodded until each one of them fell down the rickety stairs to the cellar. Elian waved happily and kicked the door closer and grinned as Rin bolted it shut.

* * *

Haha, this is terrible. And really short. I'm sorry it sucked, really, I am.

Sorry for mistakes! :D


	13. Finding Friends

When Lyra came too, she immediately felt someone's foot jamming into her lower back. She twitched and tried moving, but two pairs of legs were over her own.

"Get off!" she muttered forcefully, rising so she was sitting up. She grimaced as she took in her surroundings. The floor was cold and hard and made of moldy, old stones. The walls were of equal quality. Lyra could just barely see light peeking out from under the door they were all pushed from. A few candles were lit and were suspended in the air. The whole place reeked of rancid flesh and the distinctive smell of blood. Lyra noticed a small splatter on the wall that was colored a suspicious dark red color.

There was a quiet groan; someone rose up and faced her. Lyra waved pitifully at Tanith. Her hair was fanned out around her face and shoulders, and she looked tired and beat down. She reached down gently and poked at a shoulder that was positioned on her calf. Ghastly stirred beside Lyra; she realized it was his foot digging into her back. Fletcher's legs were covering her own.

Fletcher instantly sat up, clutching his face and head in his hands. Ghastly rose up after him, giving a weak smile to his bruised comrades.

"Where's Skulduggery? And Wreath, for that matter?" Tanith whispered for fear of being heard by someone or something.

"Is anyone laying on them?" Ghastly questioned. Fletcher wiggled around and shrugged before standing up.

"No, I'm not sitting on anyone. Could they have already gotten up?"

"Yes, Fletcher," Skulduggery said, coming up from behind them all from the shadows, "we are both already up."

Wreath appeared next to Skulduggery, trailing coils of darkness behind him. "And we've found some interesting things while you four remained unconscious. Follow me, please." He beckoned them all forward. Fletcher helped up Tanith, while Ghastly staggered up slowly. Skulduggery reached to assist Lyra. They all traipsed after Wreath in the darkness. Occasionally, a creak or a groan would be heard, which would cause everyone's blood to run cold, but Wreath carried on, not stopping for the spooky sounds. He continued easily, at home in the darkness.

Lyra tilted her head to one side as she saw a shadow curl up the wall and shoot across the ceiling. It returned a second later, taking the same path, and disappearing from her site. Wreath suddenly took a sharp turn to the left and everyone crashed into the wall in front of them. Only Skulduggery was able to turn with Wreath.

"Hey!" Skulduggery called out cheerfully. "There's a wall there, you guys!"

"Gee, thanks for the warning," Ghastly mumbled irritably. Wreath only stopped a moment to let everyone catch up. They all formed a line again and began walking once more. After a few more minutes of this, Wreath stopped at an old door. He placed a finger to his pale and thin lips and turned the doorknob quietly. This room was much lighter.

Candles were placed on tables that were situated in the corners of the square room. A single light bulb hung from the ceiling, flickering on and off. There were two chairs on either side of the poorly maintained room, with two women sitting in them. Their heads were down, with their hair hanging in their face, but it was obvious who they were.

Suddenly and shockingly, Valkyrie Cain's and Eshara Firefox's heads snapped up to see them all crowded by the door. Eshara's reaction was a bit more excited, while Valkyrie seemed more reserved.

"Mom!" Lyra shouted and rushed up to Valkyrie Cain. She tackled her and hugged her tightly.

Valkyrie responded by laughing uneasily and awkwardly hugging Lyra back. "Great to see you, Lyra," she said softly. "But, I'm afraid you have the wrong person."

Lyra pulled back and glared at Valkyrie. "Well who are you then?"

Valkyrie huffed and stood up slowly, nodding at Eshara once and facing everyone. "We have been switched. I'm Eshara, and Eshara is Valkyrie."

"Wow," Fletcher whistled, "that makes things really awkward."

Skulduggery cocked his head. "My half-sister is now my wife?"

Valkyrie – in Eshara's body – shrugged and smiled. "This may be one of the weirdest things we've experienced. _Ever_. Nice seeing you by the way. Sorry for the gender confusion earlier. That was a little weird. Anyway, I want to hug my child and then go kick butt."

Lyra smiled and instantly hugged the real Valkyrie, laughing in relief. At least they knew that they were both alive.

Skulduggery hugged Real Valkyrie next, though it was slightly awkward. He moved onto his actual sister, in Valkyrie's body, and laughed softly. "This is a strange way to get acquainted, I admit. Have you been holding up alright?"

"Oh please!" Eshara scoffed. "I'm _me_. Of course I'm alright. Though yes, this is slightly awkward and strange. Leave it to our family to do stupid and reckless things!"

The hug fest carried on for a few more minutes, and after Valkyrie pried herself away from Tanith and Fletcher. She shot Wreath a puzzled look but ignored him all the while.

"So!" she began. "I vote that we come up with some type of plan. I'm tired of waiting around here. I will get rid of those nasty kids if it is the last thing I could ever do. Skulduggery, join me in beating the crap out of those terrible teenagers?"

"Of course," he said, nodding his skull, "but how do we get around to them without them noticing? This house is old and makes a noise whenever you step anywhere. And the door leading up from here is, without a doubt, locked. We can't get out without causing a big scene. And plus, there are all these half-dead people just sitting up against the wall, and though I am incredibly graceful and skilled, it is hard to avoid tripping over their limp bodies. So there."

Valkyrie shrugged. "Fletcher, care to teleport us out of here?"

He grimaced and sucked in a breath. "It probably wouldn't be safe," he answered.

"And why not?"

"Because my head hurts, it's dark, and teleporting a bunch of very large/fully-grown people drains me. Especially since I'm tired and want to go to sleep. Half of us could teleport into Hong Kong for all I know."

Tanith sighed. "I can try getting the lock undone with a spell. Unless the door is bound so that magic _won't_ work on it, then I won't be of help."

"I can pick it with my magic," Wreath suggested, pointing the curling coils at everyone, stopping just in front of their faces. "It wouldn't be hard."

"Let's try Tanith's idea first, however," Eshara said. "It's less complicated." Wreath pursed his lips, but nodded and allowed everyone to pass him. From the light of Skulduggery's and Ghastly's flames, Tanith led the way back to the rickety stairs. She ascended them one at a time and reached the door. She pressed her palm to the wood and muttered the required spell. They all heard a lock click, and the door swung open quietly, creaking as it went, however. Everyone winced at the sound.

Lyra was the first to pick up on the groans and moans coming from the basement. "I think the door was bound," she said loudly.

"Why do you say that?" Ghastly asked as they all stepped out of the dark and dreary basement.

"Because all those half-dead people are coming straight for us," she replied, pointing down the stairs. Already, three very tired looking people were marching up the stairs. Eyes that were filled with battle and bloodlust were trained directly at the companions.

* * *

Uh.

I suppose thanks for reading and sorry for mistakes! :D

**Hey! I've got a poll on my profile, so go vote on it! It ends on May the 23****rd****!**


	14. Sparring Skeptically

As I was writing chapter 13, the thought came to me that I should just see if I can wrap this story up this weekend.

LET'S DO THIS.

* * *

Valkyrie, still in Eshara's body, grimaced and groaned. She backed away from the group, allowing the others to back up with her, giving them more room to fight off these half-dead things. She exclaimed in surprise when she bumped into someone, and then promptly fell over on her face. Eshara, in Valkyrie's body, stopped in her tracks and collapsed on the ground as well. Elian Ford and Rin Marlow waved happily.

"Hello!" Elian greeted them. "You triggered our alarm system. It's useful. Thank _goodness_ I thought of it. But anyway, because you've gone and alerted every single creature in this house, I'm afraid that they're all out to kill you guys. So, we're going to leave for a while, and then come back to see how you all fared, okay?" He and Rin nodded and they disappeared in a vibrating shimmer.

Tanith screamed in shock as a blank-faced man reached out to grab her arm. It yanked on her hard, and she tried shaking him off, but he wouldn't budge or even loosen his grip. Tanith finally called out to Ghastly to throw her a knife from a kitchen drawer. He nodded and sped off to examine all the drawers. He found a huge meat cleaver and called out her name, and he sent it hurling through the air. Tanith caught it perfectly in her hand and sliced off the arm that was holding her.

The zombie type creature flailed about, but didn't die. He kept pursuing her, but he was trampled over by more zombie things parading up the stairs. Tanith, Ghastly, and Fletcher shouted that they would lead a group of them away. Wreath acknowledged them and he pressed his shadows up against the door and intertwined them in the wood, creating a sturdy reinforcement, so no more beings could get through. He turned, and was instantly met with a punch to the face. He stumbled backwards and glared at Eshara, who looked a little possessed, literally.

Solomon Wreath pursed his lips again and aimed a few well crafted shadows over to her feet, but she jumped and avoided them all, miraculously. She bent down and kicked his shin, but he blocked it with his cane. Eshara snarled and she yanked down on his coat and slammed him into the ground, snapping a few floor boards in the process.

Over a few feet, Skulduggery and Lyra had taken on Valkyrie. Her face had been set into a perpetual smirk, and she had been jumping and dodging everything sent at her. Lyra frowned as Valkyrie landed gracefully on the kitchen counters, smashing a few water glasses and plates.

Lyra reached for an undamaged plate and jumped on another nearby counter. Lyra stepped carefully, avoiding the forks that littered the granite surface. Valkyrie kept smirking, stepping closer and closer, a giant knife in her hand. Suddenly, however, Skulduggery's hand shot out and gripped Valkyrie's ankle, pulling her towards him, and putting her into a headlock. He nodded once at Lyra, who stepped from the cooking surfaces and broke the plate on the edges. She handed a large glass shard to her father, who held it up against Valkyrie.

Eshara screamed in frustration as Wreath coiled shadow after shadow around her body. Both females struggled about their bonds, but Skulduggery wouldn't let his grip loosen on Valkyrie for a second.

"I'll go see how everyone else is doing," Lyra announced, racing through the kitchen, and following the path of destruction her aunt and uncles made. She ended up outside, by the back of the house. Tanith and Ghastly were wrestling a large female, while Fletcher kept disappearing and reappearing with different weapons. She watched him leave, then return with a stapler. He smashed it to the forehead of the struggling person Tanith and Ghastly were fighting. They moaned in pain and Tanith reached up and wrapped her arm around the neck. Ghastly drew to full height and pinched the nose and covered the mouth. Within a few moments, the person toppled over, unconscious. Lyra shouted at Fletcher, who hadn't been watching, to get out of the way, but Elian Ford came suddenly charging towards them with a dagger. He tried aiming for Fletcher's chest, but he missed and grazed his side.

The back door suddenly burst open. Rin Marlow was lugging Eshara and Valkyrie on two arms. A window nearby shattered and Skulduggery and Wreath jumped through. Skulduggery drew his gun and Wreath's shadows went haywire around his cane.

"If you shoot us," Rin said, "then we won't be able to everyone, and I think that's what you'd want, right? Just give us around twenty minutes, and we could have your friends perfectly healthy."

Skulduggery frowned, but he didn't waver his gun.

Elian shrugged and strode to help Rin. He grabbed Eshara and laid her on the ground, while Rin put Valkyrie next to her. Elian wiped his dagger of Fletcher's blood, and he bent down next to Eshara's body. He opened her shirt a little, and reached in with the dagger and made an incision.

"What are you doing?" Tanith shrieked.

"What needs to be done!" Rin shouted back. She got her own knife out and did the same thing to Valkyrie's body. They both flexed their hands and dove into the flesh of the women. Everyone else grimaced at the site. Rin pulled her hand out delicately, dripping blood over everything. In her hand, the group noticed, was a beating heart. Elian did the same, and his hand revealed another heart. Rin nodded to him and handed him Eshara's real heart, while she received Valkyrie's. They placed the objects into both chests, and connected everything. They waited a moment for the blood to start pumping out gradually, and then they sealed the little incision wounds.

Rin and Elian stood up, blood dripping from their hands. "Happy, everyone?" Rin asked, irritated. "Now, how about we have a good fight? Fists against fists?" Both of them situated into a fighting stance, while everyone else took theirs.

"Ah, but not all of you," Elian said, and gave a wave of his hand. Within a second, Tanith, Ghastly, Fletcher, and Wreath collapsed onto the grass. Only Lyra and Skulduggery remained.

"I'll take the girl," Rin said and gave a rush up to Lyra.

Rin began by darting to the ground and giving a swift kick to Lyra's knees. Lyra cried out in shock, but recovered quickly by landing on her hands and swinging her leg around to catch Rin's abdomen. She stood quickly and dodged a punch, but couldn't avoid the other one. Rin's fist connected with Lyra's nose and she stumbled back. But suddenly, a black streak appeared in front of Lyra and reached out and launched their arm and elbow into Rin's face.

"Only _I_ get to break my daughter's nose, thank you!" Valkyrie grumbled, gripping Rin's shirt and pulling her upwards. Valkyrie held her ground as Rin tried kicking her. But Rin finally landed a blow into Valkyrie's knee. She dropped Rin and clutched her injured knee cap. Lyra staggered up and kicked and punched as hard as she could. She landed an elbow onto Rin's neck. Lyra swung her leg up and booted her in the stomach.

Valkyrie nodded gravely and raced over to Skulduggery, who was hitting Elian with his fist repeatedly. She dunked her hand into his coat pocket and fished around for a bit.

"What exactly are you doing?" he asked skeptically.

"I'm looking for you hand cuffs!" she replied, bringing her hand back out and waving them in his face. She marched back to Rin, who was being held back by Lyra's tight grip on her injured jaw. Valkyrie reached and grabbed Rin's hand and attached the cuffs to them.

Eshara wandered up happily, dragging a bloody and bruised Elian with her. She had awoken at the same time Valkyrie had, and joined her brother in fighting off the boy. She stuck his hand out and Valkyrie cheerfully cuffed him as well. Skulduggery had meandered over to their unconscious friends and roused them awake.

"Dang it!" Tanith shouted. "We missed it, didn't we?"

Valkyrie shrugged. "You can treat them really roughly when we get them to the Sanctuary," she said.

Tanith laughed, then stopped, then smiled. She ran to hug her regular best friend, who had finally returned to normal.

* * *

Thanks for reading and sorry for mistakes! :D

**Hey! I've got a poll on my profile, so go vote on it! It ends on May the 23****rd****!**


	15. So Long Lovelies

HA. HAAAAAAAAAA. DOOOOOONE.

* * *

Valkyrie Cain, once again, slammed the door of her old Mustang shut. Skulduggery stepped out of the passenger side, while Lyra climbed from the back. Valkyrie entered the tattoo parlor and smiled as Finbar's mouth formed a big "O" shape.

"Valkyrie!!" he shouted and stepped out and away from the counter. He thrust his hands out in the air and smiled big. "You're alive!"

"Yeah," she replied, "and it's about time, too. Now, we heard you might be housing a special someone here. Can we see her?"

Finbar paused and didn't say anything. He eventually said, "Look, I got no idea what you're talking about. Skul-man, do you know?"

"Finbar, you have _every_ idea what we're talking about," he replied.

"Navy!" he suddenly said, addressing Lyra. "Want a tattoo?"

"Yes!" she shouted.

"No!" her parents shouted back.

"Do I hear Valkyrie Cain?"

"Do I hear Valkyrie Cain?"

"Do I hear Valkyrie Cain?" the triplets called out from upstairs. The stampede began again, and the three boys appeared in the doorway.

"I did hear Valkyrie Cain!" Ringo Stack beamed.

"I did hear Valkyrie Cain!" Miles Jagger said excitedly.

"I did hear Valkyrie Cain!" Donahue Taylor said smoothly.

The aforementioned Valkyrie Cain smiled at the three boys, but bypassed Ringo and Miles, and went straight to Donahue. She went to whisper into his ear, and he frowned, but nodded once. He disappeared into the back, and returned with someone else.

"Not cool, Donahue!" Eshara Firefox shouted at him. "Dude, we had something special going on!"

"Donahue!" Ringo growled.

"Donahue!" Miles cried.

"Donahue!" Finbar frowned.

"She asked so nicely," he mumbled shamefully, and stepped backwards.

"Hey, Skulduggery," Valkyrie said to the skeleton, "I found her."

Skulduggery stepped up to his half-sister and pulled her away in the corner, and he tried to hand her something, but she wouldn't take it.

Valkyrie leaned in closer to Lyra. "Dysfunctional, I see," she mumbled.

"Yeah, but we're not much different," Lyra replied. "Eshara's pretty cool when you find out she's not just an annoying person who broke into your house."

Valkyrie rose an eyebrow, but shrugged it off. "I've been curious," she said, changing the subject, "where did you get that neck bite?"

"You."

"…I don't remember doing that…" Valkyrie poked at the little puncture holes in the skin. It had heeled slightly, but it was still puffy and pink.

"Well, think of it as payback for me smashing a plate on your head," Lyra said cheekily.

Valkyrie glared down at her daughter. "Ouch." She paused. "Was it a plate that Beryl and Fergus gave us?"

"Yeah."

"Oh good, those are the ugliest things I've ever seen."

"Ugh, FINE," Eshara groaned loudly, taking whatever Skulduggery holding out to her. He pulled her closer and whispered something into her ear, and she nodded slowly. "That'd be nice, actually," she eventually said.

"We've got plenty of room!" Valkyrie called out to them. "Unless Fletcher or someone comes to stay…"

"What's going on?" Lyra asked quietly.

"I'm staying for a little bit," Eshara muttered quietly, looking down.

Valkyrie smiled and shrugged and swung her arms around Eshara. "Well, welcome to the family."

* * *

Haha ouch.

Anyway, this is FINALLY done, so just thank you to everyone who read and reviewed this! All of your words of encouragement made me so happy, so really, just thanks.

I hope you liked it and thanks for sticking with me! Sorry for mistakes!

**Hey! I've got a poll on my profile, so go vote on it! It ends on May the 23****rd****!**

:D


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